Moral Event Horizons: The Destroyer of Worlds
by e7cg13
Summary: If the Gods called upon you, would you cross a Moral Event Horizon and fight alongside Angels on Earth. Code Geass x Culture Series Crossover and AU.
1. Prologue

Author's Note: This is my first fanfic ever, so go easy on me people. Constructive criticism is accepted and encouraged, but please no flames. That's just mean.

Disclaimer: Code Geass is owned by Sunrise, and I am not making any profit whatsoever on this. As for the book that I'm crossing with Geass, that's a secret, so I'll post a disclaimer for that next chapter. But I definitely do not own that either.

**Destroyer of Worlds**

**By e7cg13**

Prologue

Basked in the orange glow of the twilight sun was the bloodied site of a brutal, one-sided skirmish, further reinforcing the idea that, yes, _war is hell_. The desolate landscape which served as the backdrop for this violent conflict was filled with the sounds of artillery fire, airstrikes, and the clash of armored fighting vehicles and Britannian knightmare frames.

The battle was merely one of many which were fought between the Britannian invasion force and the remnants of the Japanese military, who refused to surrender despite the death of their prime minister, Genbu Kururugi. However, in another universe, an alternate reality, this particular battle would have never taken place at all. The consequences of this divergence in history will greatly affect not just the world, but the entire galaxy.

"Big brother, what is that noise in the background?"

The speaker was a little girl, probably no older than 7, who was currently piggy back riding on her 10 year old brothers back. She was blind and obviously incapable of walking.

"Don't worry Nunnally, that's just the fighting. We'll be safe here 'cuz we're too far away," said the raven-haired youth, obviously lying in order to reassure his delicate little sister, "We just need to get out of here and find a way to meet up with the Ashford family. Then we'll be safe. I won't let anyone hurt you."

The two siblings were trekking their way through the edges of the battle zone, too far away to be directly involved in the skirmish, but at the same time still in great danger. Prior to their current predicament, the two were being escorted by a Japanese convoy to a safe house where they would seek asylum with the Ashfords.

But the convoy had been attacked by Britannian forces, and in the ensuing chaos, Lelouch and Nunnally found themselves separated from their protectors and forced to escape the danger zone alone and on foot. On top of that, Lelouch had to carry his crippled sister on his back as they had lost the gentle girl's wheelchair. Despite his determination, the unathletic boy was already struggling to support his sister's weight along with his own fatigue.

"Brother, are you alright? You seem out of breath. Are you sure we should keep going? We could stop here and take a break if it's too difficult carrying me."

"I'm fine Nunnally, I said not to worry. We can't stop here anyways, the battle is too close. It's too dangerous to take a break. I can manage," replied Lelouch.

Nunnally accepted Lelouch's answer, but was still upset. She hated being a burden to her older brother. She would rather have Lelouch just leave her there so he could escape on his own, but she knew her overprotective sibling would never go for it.

That's when her sensitive ears heard it. At first it was a faint noise that seemed insignificant in comparison to the cacophony of the battlefield, but then became louder and louder until it was a sharp whistle. Lelouch didn't seem to notice it, so Nunnally decided to voice her concerns.

"Umm, brother, do you hear that strange noise. I don't know what it is, but I think something is comi-," BOOM! Suddenly, a stray artillery shell impacts several meters from their location. It explodes with immense force and heat, peppering the hapless vi Britannia siblings with deadly shrapnel. Lelouch is instantly knocked off his feet, taking Nunnally with him. Once again, Nunnally is shielded from fatal damage by the body of a loved one.

Meanwhile, surveying the battlefield from a more secure location was a woman; a very unusual woman. She was very tall and possessed unnatural beauty. In her right hand she carried a small brief case. The women suddenly flinched, as if sensing something important, than made her way closer to the fighting, where two royal siblings lay on the ground; one of them in critical condition.

Nunnally was in immense pain. The former princess had not felt anything this excruciatingly painful since…since her mother's own demise. But the pain couldn't compare to her fear for Lelouch's condition. Nunnally's beloved older brother was still sprawled on top of her, just like her mother had been when she died, and he hadn't said anything since they were hit. He hadn't even asked her if she was okay. Lelouch was obviously unconscious, and if the prince's blood all over her was any indication, he was also dying.

The blind girl prayed to every god she believed in to save her brother. She didn't know what she would do without Lelouch and his kindness and love for her. The very thought of a world without him was…NO! She didn't want to think of a world devoid of Lelouch vi Britannian. It just wasn't possible. He had to survive!

"Lelouch, please wake up! You can't die big brother! You can't!" cried the former princess, "You p-promised to protect me."

"Don't worry little girl. Everything will be alright," said a voice out of nowhere. Nunnally would have jumped in surprise if she could. She had been too busy worrying over Lelouch that she failed to notice what sounded like a women approach them.

"W-who's there? Please, whoever you are, please save my brother," pleaded Nunnally. The exiled princess hoped with all her being that this mysterious woman wasn't going to bring any harm to her dying brother, but something about her just made Nunnally feel…safe. Her very presence oozed a field of goodness and justice that reassured Nunnally immensely. But there was something else there, pervading the women's aura. It was something odd, something _alien_.

The voice of the enigmatic woman continued speaking, "Your brother is in good hands. Just relax and we'll get you to safety. And as for who I am…"

"My name is Diziet Sma."

TBC

A.N. Well, there you go. And yes, this is a crossover between Sunrise's Code Geass and the Culture series by Iain M. Banks, neither of which I own. I hope you enjoyed my first attempt at creative writing, so please read and review!


	2. Chapter 1: A Fallen Star

Author's Note: For the purpose of this story, the setting takes place in an alternate universe containing both Code Geass Earth and the Culture. In this AU there are several major changes in the timeline that are essential to the plot. The first change is that CG's Ascension Throne Britannia calendar coincides directly with the real world's Anno Domini calendar. So 2017 a.t.b. takes place at the same time as 2017 a.d. instead of being 1977 or whatever.

The second major timeline change is that all the events of the Culture series takes place 1000 years earlier. For example, Consider Phlebas (which takes place around 1331 a.d. in the book) takes place around 331 a.d., and Surface Detail (which takes place around 2770 a.d. in the book) takes place in 1770 a.d. for the sake of this fanfic. I did this because I wanted the story to be set after Surface Detail, chronologically the latest book in the Culture series, so I could have more freedom in detailing the Culture and the rest of the galaxy.

The third major change is that the events of State of the Art never happened in this AU. Earth still becomes an experimental control for the Culture, but it comes about differently, which is a major plot point later on.

Of course, if you have never heard of the Culture series and are only reading this for Code Geass or out of boredom, this doesn't really apply to you. This is just for avid Culture fans who are interested in the time period for my story relative to the Culture. And just to let you guys know; although I've only read one book in the Culture series completely (Use of Weapons), I have extensive knowledge of the other books; at least as extensive as possible without completely reading them. But I digress, so on to the disclaimer.

Disclaimer: Code Geass is owned by Sunrise and the Culture series by Iain M. Banks. I am not making any profit whatsoever on this.

**Chapter 1: A Fallen Star**

**By e7cg13**

_Britannia Imperial Palace, Pendragon, Holy Empire of Britannia, Earth, 2010 a.t.b._

Charles was puzzled.

Charles was puzzled because the two children of his deceased wife, Marianne vi Britannia, were missing. And not missing, as in the bullshit some nobles tell the public when their inbred son is really being locked up forever in their basement, but actually _missing_.

For the last six months since his invasion of Japan, now Area 11, Charles had sent numerous overt and covert groups to search for the missing vi Britannia siblings, but all of them came back empty handed. Lelouch and Nunnally had truly dropped off the radar.

_BUT HOW! _He was the Emperor for gods' sake. If he couldn't find two of his children in an occupied country under his very own empire's rule, then they must have either left Area 11 or died. But that was what puzzled him the most. They couldn't have left Area 11; his invasion force had the entire island completely blockaded by sea and air. And they couldn't have died either, because he couldn't find them anywhere in the World of C.

Damn it all, this wasn't supposed to happen. Charles had specifically ordered his agents in Area 11 to ensure Lelouch and Nunnally's safety as well as their arrival at the Ashford Residence. They had failed him, and now he had to deal with an unknown variable. He hated the unknown.

But it didn't matter anymore. Marianne's children were of no importance for the time being. All that mattered now was Ragnarok.

_The Fortress Jaburon, Military Junta of Rhodos, Planet Nebelum, 2016 a.t.b._

Grand Generalissimo Franskua DeMurai, supreme commander of the Rhodos Military Junta and self-proclaimed ruler of the world, pondered over the elaborate battle plans and strategies he had devised with the help of his loyal advisors. Safely ensconced within the impregnable fortress which acted as his military HQ, the Generalissimo specifically went over the most important phase in his strategy, a surgical strike against a key logistics point controlled by his enemy, the Royal Kingdom of Marion.

Marion was the last remaining power that could threaten DeMurai's ultimate goal of world domination (how cliché), and he hoped that with this attack he could disrupt their already stretched supply lines. It would be the key to turning the tides of war in his favor.

But he had other problems. Marion, knowing that they were no match for the Rhodos war machine, had hired mercenaries and hit men to assassinate key members of the Junta. One of the most notorious and successful of these assassins was a mysterious and enigmatic figure known only as the X.

The X was probably the most experienced and skilled assassin in the world. His most infamous achievement was called the "Month of Bloody Rhodos", when he assassinated one high-ranking officer everyday for the entire month. By the end of the month, he murdered so many military commanders that he had single-handedly disrupted the chain of command in an entire theatre of war.

In other words, Franskua DeMurai wanted him dead. Very, very dead.

So the good Generalissimo had placed the biggest bounty in the world on the X's head. "Fight fire with fire" as they say. Or in this case, assassinate assassins with assassins.

And once the X's decapitated head was finally in his hands, Generalissimo DeMurai would display it in front of his military during the Annual Rhodos Parade for the Commemoration of the Grand Army, as a symbol of the Junta's invincibility and triumph.

And as a warning for his enemies.

A knock on the door to his private chambers awakened the Generalissimo from his deep thoughts. DeMurai had strictly ordered that he was only to be interrupted for one reason.

"Sir, the X is dead," announced the officer bluntly after being allowed into DeMurai's chamber.

"Is that so? What wonderful news, that man has been a major nuisance to me since Marion hired him in the first place," replied DeMurai, "Now give me the details. Who, or what, is responsible for this?"

"Just yesterday, the X was successfully assassinated by another hit man, who is offering to mail you the decapitated head, sir."

"Nice try, but my predecessor already fell for the "mail a bomb in a package trick". I'm not that stupid. I want this hit man to deliver the head to me, _personally. _While you're at it, I would like to know the name of the man who had so generously offed that annoying thorn in my side. "

He meant it to. The X had been an extremely capable warrior. The mysterious assassin had almost succeeded in killing _him_ once, failing only due to some bad luck. He had sent entire legions of his most elite troops to eliminate the X, but they all came back in failure. For one man to beat the X at his own game piqued his curiosity.

"Sir, the man who killed the X goes by the alias "Z". We tried to run a more detailed background check on him but that's all we found."

"How ironic, the X was killed by a man called Z. This assassin has quite the sense of humor," said Franskua with an amused tone, "I want you to send this Z a message. He will meet me here, at my fortress, alone, and deliver the head to me. The timeframe for this little delivery will be in a about a week's time, I'll work out the details later. Also, I want you to arrange for the Grand Parade to be rescheduled to next week, so I can display the head during my review of the army. Dismissed"

The officer gave DeMurai a formal salute before leaving the Generalissimo to his own devices.

_Unknown, Outer Space, 3 months prior_

Floating through the void of space was a relatively small meteor of nickel iron composition. Not small enough to burn up in the atmosphere, and with enough velocity to impact with great kinetic energy, this particular meteor would have been the cause of extinction for a few species if it wasn't on its way to collide with an uninhabited ice moon.

That is, until a Culture drone redirected its trajectory by a few degrees using its force fields.

"Why am I doing this again?" asked the feminine-sounding drone to no one in particular, "I mean, he just randomly asks me to redirect a random meteor in a random system in the middle of nowhere, and for what reason! I think he mentioned something about "being prepared for the next mission" and it being all part of his plans, but that's it! That's all he tells me."

"So I ask again, why am I doing this? Oh right, because _I love him_," said the Culture drone, with hints of sadness. "Even though I'm just a drone, and he's just a human, I had to go and fall in love with him. Sigh, even utopia has unrequited love."

For a brief moment in time, the drone's field flickers to purple, the color of drone regret, before the lovesick drone engages its Warp drive in order to return to the GSV she had come from.

_The Fortress Jaburon, Military Junta of Rhodos, Planet Nebelum, 2016 a.t.b._

As the central headquarters of the Military Junta of Rhodos, Fortress Jaburon was fortified to withstand any assault. There exist rumors saying that half of Marion's armed forces would fail to take Jaburon. The fortress itself was a grey, monolithic structure over twenty stories high, covered with SAMs and anti-aircraft guns. It loomed over a complex of smaller military bases and airfields.

Staring at the massive fortress was none other Z himself. Wearing an oversized, black trench coat and a large hat of matching color, the menacing figure easily inspire fear in those of weak wills. And for those aware of his reputation as the killer of the X, they would consider him a demon from hell.

The assassin made his way to the immense silver-wrought gates after passing through numerous security checks. Under his arm was a package, wrapped in a generic brown box. It presumably contained the decapitated head of the X. After knocking on the front door, Z was ushered in by a meek looking manservant.

After being led down a long hall way filled with auto turrets and blast doors, the assassin reached a spacious, yet spartan lobby. He was greeted by a mountain of a man wearing a worn out tuxedo suit.

"You must be Z. I am the chief of staff in charge of Fortress Jaburon, and the Generalissimo's most trusted aid. You may call me Domoi. Grand Generalissimo Franskua DeMurai expresses his gratitude for your services in killing the X."

"Tell him that he doesn't need to thank me. I just want my pay," said Z in his refined alto voice. "Now then, where can I meet him so I can drop off my little package and be on my way?"

Domoi gave a little chuckle before motioning with his hands for a squad of armed guards to surround the assassin. As one, the soldiers all aimed there automatic rifles at the outnumbered hit man. In response, Z drew a concealed pistol from his trench coat, pointing it at the chief of staff.

"Put your squirt gun away Z. You're outnumbered and outgunned. All I want to do is check your package to confirm that it contains what you claim it does, in order to ensure the safety of the Generalissimo."

Realizing that he had no means of survival and escape, Z complied with Domoi and threw his pistol away. The assassin tossed the package at the chief of staff before placing his hands behind his head. Catching the box effortlessly, the tuxedoed giant carefully opened the package with his hands. Inside the box was, not a head, but a bomb.

"Ah, the old "mail a bomb in a package trick". The Generalissimo was wise to suspect you. So you really didn't kill the X after all," said Domoi, somewhat disappointed.

"Actually, I did," replied Z, "The X was truly slain by my hands and his head is in my possession."

"Oh really, than why didn't you just give us the head instead of going to all this trouble? Or is someone else paying you to do this?" questioned the chief of staff.

"No one else is paying me besides you. I just wanted to gauge your security, "said Z matter-of-factly.

Domoi laughed again, before motioning for his guards to bind the assassin. After being checked and removed of any other weapons on his person, Z was handcuffed by two guards.

"Listen up, Z. I should have you shot for even trying to send a bomb to the Generalissimo, even if you were just "gauging" my security. But I like you, I really do. So I'm gonna be nice. If you tell me the location of the real head, then I'll let you live, "demanded Domoi.

"It's hidden in the transport I came here in. There should be a brown box like the one I just gave you. Except without the bomb," replied Z reluctantly.

After sending off two soldiers to check the transport, Domoi directed Z's attention to a small table in the corner. On top of it already set up was a game board that Z had never seen before.

"I can't let you go before we confirm that you aren't lying, so until we retrieve the head you're stuck here. While you're waiting, why don't we play a little game called Deuces? Ever heard of it?"

Z shook his head and smirked. Just as planned.

Meanwhile, the Annual Rhodos Parade for the Commemoration of the Grand Army had just begun outside of the fortress. Grand Generalissimo Franskua DeMurai gazed upon the endless legions of his armed forces. Rows upon rows of highly disciplined soldiers accompanied by an assortment of tanks, APCs, self-propelled artillery units, and mobile command bases littered the space around his fortress. Above them all were supersonic fighter jets performing an air show to commemorate his glory.

His victory. His triumph.

In a week's time, Operation Checkmate would begin, and his final victory against Marion would be assured. With the kingdom under his boot, no one could oppose the might of his war machine any longer.

He would be immortalized as the man who conquered the world. As his army cheers for him in praise of the rousing speech he had just delivered, the tyrant holds up the decapitated head of the X. A sign and warning to all those who dared to oppose him.

Gazing up into the sky, the Grand Generalissimo thanks God, fate, the Cosmic Will, or whatever higher being was out there, for blessing him with the capacity to conquer. To rule.

And in the sky he saw a burning light. A light that grew larger and larger until-BOOM!

A small meteor strikes the ground just outside of the fortress complex with the force of a 100 kiloton thermonuclear device, if nukes had been invented on Planet Nebelum. The massive explosion that results from impact expands outward in a wave of destruction sweeping over the Grand Army. Every last soldier, aircraft, or armored vehicle is decimated.

Only the fortress remains intact, as it was too far away from the explosion. Knocked down by the collision, Franskua DeMurai struggled to regain his balance.

Upon standing, the dictator witnessed the worst fear held by any self-respecting general. The complete annihilation of his entire army.

In total shock, it takes several seconds before the Generalissimo fully comprehends what just happened. Once realization dawns on him, the dictator curses God, fate, and the Cosmic Will.

Prior to the meteor impact, Z and Domoi were engaged in an intense game of Deuces. Despite his inexperience, never having even heard of the game prior to today, Z's cunning intellect allowed him to keep up with the chief of staff, who knew the game inside out.

"And with that move, I call victory," declared Z.

Domoi stared at the game board for a short moment before saying, "Impressive! And here I thought my experience with the game would give me the upper hand. You must be an excellent strategist. There aren't many who can claim to beat me at Deuces."

"There aren't many who can claim to beat me at any strategy game," replied Z.

Not many humans, at least, thought Z to himself. Domoi merely laughed it off. He motioned for the guards again, who grabbed the assassin roughly and handcuffed him.

"Excellent game, my friend, but now that the Generalissimo has possession of the head, I'm afraid that I must send you to your cell," said Domoi.

"You said I could leave if I told you the location of the real head."

"I said that I would let you _live_. But I can't just let you go. You're too dangerous. Such a shame, you're going to miss the parade. The initial military review should be starting just about now," said Domoi with false regret laced in his voice, "You two, take Mr. Z here to his nice, comfy cell."

The two guards holding Z unceremoniously led him down another hall way, supposedly to his new cell. When the two guards and Z were alone, the assassin spoke

"You guys are all falling for my trap, you know that right."

"Quiet, you son of a bitch!" yelled the first guard.

"Oh, you want me to be quiet. Even though I'm about to tell you exactly how I'm going to kill your dear leader," said Z sarcastically.

"What was that? Are you threatening the Generalissimo? 'Cuz if you are, you better be able to take a beating because we're gonna pound the lies and empty threats outta' ya!" exclaimed the second.

"They're not empty threats. Do you think that was the only bomb I had? I have the entire area planted with explosives ready to go off. And as soon you leave me alone in my "nice, comfy cell", I'm going to set them off and blow myself to kingdom come. And I'm taking this entire fortress and your Generalissimo with me."

One of the guards roared and kicked Z into the adjacent wall.

"You lying piece of shit! You expect us to believe that crap. Explosives my ass! You're just trying to scare us," said the first guard.

Suddenly, there was a massive explosion in the background, knocking both soldiers off their feet. The two guards would never know that the explosion had been a meteor impact.

"What the hell was that? Hey you shithead! Tell me what the hell just happened!" screamed the second guard.

The assassin, still handcuffed and lying on the ground, just smirked and said, "A warning explosion, don't worry, you're dear leader isn't dead. _Yet_."

"You…you…you son of a…tell me how to disable the damn explosives!" one of the guards exclaim before punching Z right in the face.

"Punching me won't accomplish anythi-," Z was interrupted in mid sentence by another punch to the groin. Damn, that really hurt, thought the assassin.

The two soldiers continued beating Z, over and over again, until one of them decided to bring out their rifle and aimed it right at his temple.

"Enough talk! Tell me. NOW!" yelled the soldier currently pointing an automatic rifle at Z's forehead

"D-don't s-sh-shoot!" stuttered Z in faked panic.

"TELL ME!"

"Okay, fine! I'll tell you! It's in my shoe."

The two guards just looked each other in confusion.

"In your shoe?" asked one of the puzzled soldiers.

"Take off both my shoes, if you peel the layer inside you'll find two remotes. They control the bombs. But you have to press both at the same time. If you only press one, the explosives will detonate prematurely," stated Z

Not sure whether to believe him or not, the two soldiers decided to do as he said, removing Z's shoes and finding the thin remotes inside. Each had a blinking light and a big red button to press. "Here goes nothing," one of the guards said, before both guards pressed their respective buttons on the count of three.

The remotes promptly delivered a fatal shock to both soldiers, instantly killing them.

Seeing the demise of his two captors, the bruised and beaten assassin began laughing hysterically.

"Suckers, didn't their mothers ever teach them not to press big red buttons," said Z while laughing, "Luckily there were only two guards. If there had been more I would have had to improvise. But that's what plan B is for, after all."

"Now time to get out of these bindings and make sure my target has been eliminated."

Standing up, the assassin used one shackled hand to grab at his left "eyeball", before ripping out the prosthetic from its socket. Z had gone through all the trouble of having his real eyeball replaced just for this mission, so his elaborate plan had better work.

The assassin took the egg-sized object that he had just torn out from his eye socket, and smashed it on the adjacent wall. The fake eye cracked like an egg, releasing a green slime. Careful not to get any of the acid on him, Z carefully poured the green substance all over his chains, corroding and melting them. He was free.

Meanwhile, Grand Generalissimo Franskua DeMurai was still in total shock at the loss

of his Grand Army. What bad luck he had! If someone had told him that a meteor would come out of nowhere and land directly on his army just as he was about to host a parade, he would have shot them dead on the spot.

That's when he noticed a strange scar on the X's cutoff head. It looked like the scars that result from a major surgery. Letting his curiosity get the better of him, DeMurai decided to check the decapitated head. And this time curiosity saved the cat.

Hearing a faint ticking noise coming from the head as he put his ear to the scar, DeMurai realized instantly what was going on. Just in time, the Generalissimo threw the severed head off his balcony. Unluckily for him, the decapitated head, with a bomb surgically inserted in it courtesy of Z, exploded just as he had thrown it. Although quick thinking saved him from immediate demise, the explosion still blew him off his feet. DeMurai's body was impaled by many large pieces of shrapnel, and he was bleeding profusely.

He was going to die if no one came to help.

This was not supposed to happen! It was supposed to be his moment of triumph, his _coup de grace. _Franskua DeMurai was meant for greatness, and he had been so close to achieving it.

He had spent years, decades, rising through the ranks of the army. He had personally assisted his predecessor in overthrowing the weak civilian government. And after his predecessor's untimely demise, Franskua had stepped up in order to take the reins of command. He was the Grand Generalissimo.

And he wouldn't let some assassin take it all away from him!

As if answering his prayers, one of the office aids had heard the explosion and went to make sure her boss was alright.

"Oh my god, sir, I need to get you medical attention immediately. J-just hold on and I'll call-," the aid was interrupted by a bullet to her forehead. She died instantly.

Franskua swiveled his head as much as possible in his condition, in order to see who had shot his aid.

There, looking very much like a demon was Z, wearing a patch over his left eye.

"Greetings, my dear leader. I hope you enjoyed that meteor shower I gave your army." said Z in false respect for the dying tyrant.

"Y-you, you planned this. All of this. The meteor, the exploding severed head. It was all you!" exclaimed DeMurai before coughing up more blood. The demon assassin responded to his accusations by directly pointing a high caliber pistol point blank at the Generalissimo's temple. "Guilty as charged. So, any last words before I blow your brains out?" asked Z

"Who the hell are you?"

"Me? Why, my friend, don't you know? My name is Sol-Terrasa Lelouch Lamperouge vi Britannia da Pendragon. I am an agent of Special Circumstances. I am the Destroyer of Worlds. And this…is Checkmate."

He pulls the trigger.

_Planet Nebulum, 2016-2100 a.t.b._

With the death of Grand Generalissimo Franksua DeMurai at the hands of an unidentified assassin, as well as the destruction of Fortress Jaburon and a significant fraction of his military due to a small meteor impact, the tides of war turned in Marion's favor. With their military power weakened, the Military Junta of Rhodos fell due to internal conflict and rebellion, replaced by a new civilian government. However, for the next few years the new administration would be heavily restricted and effectively under Marionese control.

By 2100 a.t.b. the Royal Kingdom of Marion has its own shift in government, becoming a more democratic state with a reduced monarchy. Rhodos itself is once again a sovereign nation, no longer haunted by the scars of war and the military junta.

The inhabitants of Planet Nebulum would never discover how one man, the Destroyer of Worlds, saved them from the brink of destruction.

_Arameth Orbital, Culture Space, 2016 a.t.b._

"So, how was the latest adventure of the legendary Destroyer of Worlds?" casually asked Lorelis-mir Soren-Romana Kurchipou Dax Relavis, aka Soren-Romana or just Romana for short. The drone took the form of a floating, multicolored sphere wearing what appeared to be a ponytail made from wires.

"Excellent, mission accomplished as always. But what else can you expect from me," replied her companion, Lelouch vi Britannia.

The two friends, one human and one Culture combat drone, were currently engaged in a war game simulation using virtual reality technology. Despite the drone's superior reaction time and supposedly superior thinking capacity, Lelouch was somehow able to maintain the upper hand, as they battled with immense fleets of virtual ROUs, or Rapid Offensive Units, the Culture's destroyer analog.

"Arrogant as ever I see. I heard about that meteor you dropped on the poor, unsuspecting dictator's army. So that's what you wanted me to do that stupid job for!"

"And I'm very grateful for that, my dear Romana. If you hadn't so kindly redirected that meteor I would have had to think up some tedious plan that involved me dedicating far too much effort for such a simple job."

Romana's aura field flickered to a light-grey color, indicating her feelings of frustration as Lelouch tricked a few of her virtual ROUs into colliding with a black hole. The duo were sitting (or hovering in Romana's case) at a pristine white table, with Lelouch's VR headset linked to the game table's integrated computer system.

Surrounding them was a luscious field of green-as-can-be grass, with a few towering trees here and there, and crystal spires visible in the distance. The 5 million kilometer wide Arameth Orbital that had become Lelouch's residence for the moment was mostly covered in similar environments such as this.

"Isn't that breaking the rules, Lelouch? I mean the whole "no Culture tech on missions" rule. That's one of the reasons you became a famous SC agent in the first place. Shouldn't the meteor drop, since I caused it, be considered against those rules?"

The former prince, busy with effectorizing some of Romana's key battle units, only responded, "It doesn't count. I had you move that meteor before I even started my mission."

Romana briefly noticed a few Culturniks playing with what seemed to be energy swords in the background before continuing, "Whatever. Besides that, did you even think about how much collateral damage dropping a frikken' _meteor_ could cause? The Minds must have thrown a hyperspatial fit when they found out you unnecessarily endangered the lives of millions of innocent bystanders."

"Relax, Romana. I made sure to calculate the meteor's exact kinetic energy upon impact, and the blast radius of the resulting explosion. Plus, I essentially dropped it on a completely militarized area filled with nothing but military bases, all centered around a fortress. Civilian casualties were definitely low," replied the SC agent, drowning out the sounds of laser fire as several Culture citizens played soldier a few kilos from there location.

Many displaced nanoholes, CAMs, and CREWs later, along with a clever use of effectors on Lelouch's part, left Soren-Romana with only a single ROU left. It didn't take aura fields the color of gunmetal to show how bewildered the soldier drone was. Humans never ceased to amaze her. You would think that none of them with their fleshy brains could ever hope to beat you in a game of war, but then one shows up and does just that.

No wonder Lelouch was a referrer on top of being an SC agent.

Romana was roused from her musings by Lelouch's regal voice saying, "With the Generalissimo dead, his army obliterated, and his fortress defenseless and vulnerable, the Junta's opposition easily ended the war in their favor. Not to mention ours. Not too shabby, don't you think, especially compared to the last mission."

Romana could see the smug grin on her companion's face.

"D-don't you dare! I thought I told you not to mention _that_, ever again!" exclaimed Romana, her fields were now white.

Lelouch grinned again before replying sarcastically, "I'm flattered that, believing I had died, you tried to sacrifice yourself in a kamikaze attack on an Affronter warship. I wasn't aware that you cared so much Romana."

"Of course I care…" said the drone with a melancholic tone. Her fields had gone from white to purple. At that moment, her last ROU was subverted via effectors and forced to commit suicide, ending the simulation.

Ever observant, the raven haired teen easily noticed the slight hint of sadness in the drone's reply. Puzzled, the former prince decided to inquire his drone companion, "H-hey, what's the matter. Did mentioning that mission really upset you that badly?"

"No, it's not that. It's just…never mind. I'm just being stupid. Forget about it."

Lelouch, not necessarily the most sympathetic and empathetic person in the universe, decided to drop the subject. His attention was brought back to the war game he had just won.

"Well, I guess I'm victorious. I'm getting better at this, don't you think? When I first got here I could never beat a drone."

"Yeah, even today I'm fascinated at how you can outsmart me despite having a meatbag for a brain," replied Romana with a sarcastic tone.

Lelouch chuckled despite the thinly veiled insult to his species. He knew Romana, and he knew Romana had no ill will towards biologicals. In fact, one could say that Soren-Romana was a drone who loved humans above all other drones.

Another thought, another observance came to Lelouch's mind. During the last segment of their game, Romana's only remaining ROU had been viciously fighting off his assault, dodging or redirecting attacks from lineguns, displacers, and effectors. But at the last minute, her ROU had stopped defending and allowed itself to be taken over. Lelouch wanted to ask Romana why she did this. It was on the tip of his tongue. Why? Why? Why? But he couldn't. He couldn't ask the question he so very much wanted to know the answer to. It was like some invisible force was preventing him from asking.

Had he been effectorized when he wasn't looking, or was it that annoying, fickle thing called his subconscious? Did he subconsciously not want to know her answer?

Well, it didn't matter, he would have won anyways.

Lelouch didn't know whether or not he should feel guilty for thinking that.

_dROU Eternal Requiem, Culture Space, 2016 a.t.b._

"**So, how was the latest adventure of the legendary Destroyer of Worlds**?" casually asked the Mind controlling the dROU Eternal Requiem. An almost perfect mirror of another conversation going on in a different part of the universe.

The recipient of her question, Rasd-Corduresa Diziet Embless Sma da' Marenhide, was currently lounging half-naked in a small Jacuzzi. She was inside an indoor courtyard with a smooth marble floor, filled with golden statues of humans as well as various alien species. The room was littered with numerous types of vegetation, adding a living, organic feel. Its walls were covered in paintings depicting the Idiran war, and the ceiling was a blue holographic sky. A rather odd room for what was essentially a warship, although demilitarized. A pleasant cinnamon smell permeated throughout the courtyard.

"Shouldn't you, being a Mind, already know the answer to your own question?" inquired the dark-haired beauty, not even bothering to open her eyes. She was too busy relaxing in the warm, massaging embrace of the Jacuzzi's hot waters.

Were the Requiem a human, it would have rolled its eyes, "**Yes, but just humor me. It's much more amusing when you pretend that I'm not virtually omniscient**."

Diziet turns her body around so that she's lying on her stomach and her perfectly-shaped and completely exposed breasts are pressed against the cold, marble floor. "In a nutshell, Lelouch walks in, destroys an army by dropping a meteor on them, assassinates their leader during the chaos and confusion, and than makes a quick getaway. But not before he ensure that the Royal Kingdom of Marion finishes off the rest of Rhodos's war machine, and that the Junta itself is overthrown by rebels from within. Smooth, methodical, and with little civilian casualties, what else can you expect from the Destroyer of Worlds."

"**He did take a rather huge risk by using a **_**meteor **_**of all things to destroy such a primitive army**," replied the Mind with skepticism.

"True, but this is Lelouch vi Britannia we're talking about. He probably planned it all out in order to limit collateral damage. Or he was just being lazy."

"**Well, it turned out for the best in the end, so my criticism of his methods seems to be misplaced. Just make sure he doesn't take such huge risks in the future**."

Diziet Sma gave a small nod in compliance, before getting out from the Jacuzzi. Her toned body was dripping wet. "Ship, would you be so kind as to dry me off?" asked Diziet politely. The Eternal Requiem responded by using micro precision force fields to surgically remove every molecule of water from Diziet's skin and hair, leaving her completely dry.

"Thank you, Ship. Can I have my clothes?" Suddenly, a somewhat futuristic-looking, skintight, silver jumpsuit materialized in front of her via displacement. It was the latest style amongst Culturniks. After putting on the form fitting outfit, the female SC agent sat down in a comfy AG field chair lying next to the Jacuzzi.

"**Quite a catch you've come upon, eh Diziet. Who would guess that six years ago, when you brought home two exiled royals escaping from a war zone, one of them would become not only a referrer and an elite SC agent, but also an excellent strategy gamer, in the same vein as Jernau Morat Gurgeh."**

"Speaking of games, I heard recently from Romana that Lelouch had bested her in another VR war," said Diziet, while searching the Culture equivalent of the Internet using her Terminal implant, "I also heard that you want to be the Destroyer of World's personal vessel. Are you sure about that? It's a rare occurrence in the Culture for a Mind to want to bind itself to a single individual."

The holographic image of a stunning red-headed girl suddenly appeared lying on a nearby AG field chair. She was the Mind's avatar. Turning her holographic head towards Diziet, the avatar spoke, "I consider him a very fascinating individual. An SC agent who is so skilled at his job, that he could single-handedly infiltrate and subvert an entire civilization with no Culture technology whatsoever, not even an offensive drone for backup," The avatar could not hide the awe in her voice and the twinkle in her eye when she said that, "I heard he has only required support once in his entire career, during a difficult, high-risk mission involving the Affront."

"Well, he can seem like a Mary Sue figure sometimes, but trust me, underneath it all he has more faults and complexes then you can care to name," said Diziet, more to herself as the avatar wasn't really paying attention to what she had just said.

"At the same time, he's such a tragic figure. The exiled prince of an empire whose mother was gunned down when he was just a little boy and his sister crippled and blinded in the same night," continued the avatar dramatically. Don't let anyone tell you that a Mind cannot be a romanticist.

Diziet replied, "But still. If you're so fascinated by him, there are a lot of other things you can do besides becoming his personal vessel."

"Don't worry about it, it's not like I'm selling myself into slavery. It's more like a companionship, such as the bond between SC agents and their drone partners."

"How much longer until we reached Arameth?" asked Diziet, changing the subject.

The Requiem's avatar replied, "2 weeks at the most. These new and improved hyperdrive engines are amazing." A group of three seemingly humanoid aliens walked in, ignoring Diziet and the avatar, before making their way to a large Olympic-style pool in the middle of the courtyard.

"Lelouch is going to be shocked when he hears that you want to be his personal ship," said Diziet, currently reading an erotic story using her Terminal while sipping some unknown alcoholic beverage.

"That's not all he's going to be shocked by," replied the Requiem's avatar, catching Diziet's full attention.

"Wait, there's more shocking news that you plan on telling Lelouch? What is it?" asked the SC agent curiously.

There weren't many bits of information that could honestly surprise Lelouch vi Britannia, the Destroyer of Worlds. Besides telling him that he had his own personal Culture ship, that his sister Nunully was currently involved in a mass orgy, or that Soren-Romana had been destroyed without a mind-state backup, there was only one thing that Diziet Sma knew of that could be considered "shocking news" by the former prince.

"We, the Minds, have a new mission for him that he will not refuse."

Despite knowing for sure what the answer will be, Diziet asked anyways, "A new mission. To where?"

The holographic avatar flickered out of existence, replaced by the booming voice of the Ship itself saying only one word, "**Britannia**."

_Arameth Orbital, Culture Space, 2016 a.t.b._

"So I heard that relations with the Seythlcoa have been degrading recently?" asked Lelouch. The exiled royal was casually walking down a white path that seemed to stretch on forever to eternity, with Soren-Romana floating besides him.

The Seythlcoa, a race of intelligent, bird-like humanoids, were one of the high-level Involved civilizations of the Galaxy, also known as the Optimae. Included among this illustrious group were the Homomda, the Morthanveld, and the Culture itself.

"It's gotten pretty bad. Some say there might even be conflict. Like the Idiran War but worse," replied the Culture drone. Suddenly, there was a loud explosion in the background, startling Romana and causing her fields to turn rainbow. Turning around, Lelouch could see a distant mushroom cloud rising high above the surface. "Relax, Romana, it's probably someone getting bored and playing with harmless nuclear devices," stated the SC agent with nonchalance. He motioned for Romana to continue.

"All this tension between the Culture, the Seythlcoa, and the other Involved centers around several Eldar artifacts discovered near the edge of the Galaxy," explained Romana, "The Seythlcoa want to exploit these artifacts immediately, while the Culture and the Morthanveld believe that doing so would be very dangerous, and that it's safer to wait and observe first."

Lelouch nodded while he secretly sent a message to the Orbital's hub via his neural lace. His request accepted the former prince watched as a hover board was instantly displaced next to his feet. Quickly jumping on, Lelouch accelerated and took off immediately, causing Romana to scream, "Hey, wait!" before taking off after the sky boarding Destroyer of Worlds.

"I love the Culture," yelled Lelouch at the top of his lungs, as his hover board allowed him to dance across the sky, riding the anti-gravitational waves at supersonic velocity and pulling off tricks impossible with ordinary Earth skate boards and ordinary Earth physiology. Accompanying him in the sky was Soren-Romana, using her own fields to easily keep up.

"Damn you Lelouch, you could've warned me!" Romana exclaimed.

"Sorry, my dear Romana, but it's so much fun seeing you turn rainbow."

Lelouch accelerated again with the hover board before performing a few more aerial tricks and turns. Seeing Romana in his peripheral vision, Lelouch had an idea. The SC agent glanded "Quicken" and "Focus" using his drug implants. He needed to time this perfectly.

Just as Romana passed within a few meters of him, Lelouch's improved reflexes allowed him to execute his plan at just the right moment, jumping off his hover board…and landing directly on top of Romana.

"H-hey, get off m-me Lelouch! Have you lost your mind!" exclaimed Romana, as her aura fields flickered between grey, white, and…red? Odd, was her aura field malfunctioning or was she actually enjoying this. Before Lelouch could continue his thought, the drone suddenly accelerated, knocking her human companion off her.

The former prince fell. And fell. And fell. And fell. He could see the surface of the orbital getting closer and closer, as his body reached terminal velocity. Lelouch should have been terrified; he would splatter as soon as he collided with the ground. But he wasn't, this was a Culture orbital after all. You would have to be extremely, extremely stupid or incredibly, incredibly unlucky to actually die of an accident in this environment. And Lelouch was many things, but he was not stupid or unlucky.

As if on cue, the Destroyer of Worlds felt an invisible force, courtesy of Romana's fields, gently pushing up against him and slowing his descent until he softly landed on his feet.

"What the hell…was _that_!" asked Romana with a mixture of anger, annoyance, and a little curiosity.

"_That_, my dear drone…was fun," replied Lelouch smugly, "Ever heard of it."

It was no lie either. He loved the feeling of falling. He loved the thrill. Provided that someone caught him, of course. And annoying Romana like that was always fun.

"You know what else is fun, Lelouch?" asked Romana, her fields as brown as shit. Lelouch didn't like the sound of that one. "What," asked the SC agent hesitantly.

"A party is fun! And its tomorrow!" answered Romana with enthusiasm. Now her fields were scarlet.

Lelouch was a little more at ease thanks to that. "What kind of party? And who's throwing it?"

Her fields flickered to brown again; indicating ill-humor, before replying, "Remember Barzee and Chia. Yup, they're the ones hosting the party." Oh yes, he definitely remembered Chia. She was rather attractive and had big b-OW! Noticing his state of mild arousal, Romana had just slapped Lelouch in the face with her force field. "I don't need an effector to know what you're thinking! No seducing the hostess at her costume party!" exclaimed the drone, her aura changing to white.

Rubbing his cheek in pain, the former prince asked, "So it's a costume party, eh. What do we have to dress up as?"

The drone's aura field turned to brown again, before Romana replied, "You have to dress up as a pirate!"

Lelouch's eyes widened. Or eye, as his left one was still covered with an eye patch.

"Oh wow, you sick…sick drone. Is that what this is all about! Inviting me to a pirate costume party when my left eye is still…by the Culture, you've been hanging out with Skaffy wayyyyy too much!" It was the truth; Skaffen-Amtiskaw was not only Romana's closest drone companion, but her _only _drone companion. Most of the time, Romana preferred the company of organic life forms, especially humans, and only interacted with other drones during SC business.

"**I'm still puzzled at why you would want to have an eye patch rather than simply having your eye regrown**," said a new voice, momentarily startling the duo before they realized that it was the Orbital's Hub speaking.

Rubbing his eye patch self-consciously, Lelouch replied, "Hello Hub, up for another round of chess. I think I might actually be able to beat you this time. Or not. And to answer your question, being an overly vain, pompous, and arrogant individual with numerous character defects and severe narcissism, I decided that wearing an eye patch would, as they would put it, look good on me."

Soren-Romana let out the drone equivalent of a giggle at Lelouch's response before blurting out, "I don't like his eye patch. It covers up his pretty eyes."

Suddenly realizing what she had just said, Romana's aura fields turned the color of embarrassment. Lelouch simply stared at her in awkward confusion.

"Anyways, I was wondering what exactly did you want to talk to us about, Hub. I have a feeling it doesn't have anything to do with eye patches or chess," said Lelouch, trying to change the subject.

"**But of course, I shall cut to the chase as you humans say. I have recently received word from my fellow Minds that you will be assigned a new mission of utmost importance**."

Lelouch's eyes widened, his curiosity was pique. The cogs in his brain began turning and turning. What type of mission could be considered of utmost importance? What did they want him to do? Most missions he had were the typical empire-toppling missions he preferred to work on, usually involving relatively primitive civilizations that had no impact at the galactic level. The only exception was the mission before his last; the mission involving the Affront and Romana's almost suicide.

Soren-Romana asked the question Lelouch wanted very much to ask, "What exactly does this new mission entail?"

He didn't know why Romana cared though. He hardly ever brought her on his missions; only once in his entire career, during the aforementioned Affront mission. But that mission was to be far more challenging than average, which was why he had brought her along in the first place. He wondered if she held any resentment towards him for always leaving her behind.

And he would never understand why she continued to stay with him at all.

There was a pregnant pause before the Mind spoke again, "**You'll be debriefed at a later time on the details of your mission. It is not my place to say what exactly you'll be doing, but I assure you, it will be a pleasant surprise. In about two week's time, the dROU Eternal Requiem will arrive with your handler, one Diziet Sma. She and the Requiem's Mind will explain the rest of the situation with you**."

Lelouch's face seemed to light up at this. "Dizzy is coming!" the former prince said ecstatically.

Romana could see it; that expression he had on his face whenever someone mentioned Diziet Sma, his savior and his goddess. An expression he would never have for the Offensive drone. Because she was not human. At least that was what Romana thought.

"**Yes, along with your sister Nunnally**," stated the Mind.

Lelouch's face lit up again. But of course, the one person he valued even more than his goddess was his precious little sister.

A sister who could see and walk; no more was she imprisoned by their painful past.

_Shinjuku Ghetto, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Earth, 2016 a.t.b._

Those damn Britannians! They took everything from her. They took her nation, her pride, her mother's dignity, and now even her only brother.

They took everything.

And she was going to pay them back a hundred fold in a few months, when she and her fellow resistance members stole _it_.

It being Project Code-R.

TBC

A.N. Tada, another chapter complete. I'll try to have an update once every week, but no promises. Once again, constructive criticism is accepted and encouraged, but please no flames. Read and review, people!


	3. Chapter 2: Debriefings

Author's Note: If Lelouch appears out of character in this story, it's for a good reason. You could say that he's changed a lot from canon; living in a society that is the closest thing to utopia in the universe does that to people. Of course this is really just my excuse to get away with OOCness in my story, but hey, at least I need an excuse. Think of everyone who doesn't.

Disclaimer: Code Geass is owned by Sunrise and the Culture series by Iain M. Banks. I am not making any profit on this fanfic whatsoever.

Chapter 2: Debriefings

_Sword of Akasha, 2016 a.t.b._

"You can't be serious, Charles!" exclaimed the spirit of former Empress-Consort Marianne vi Britannia. Without so much as giving a response, the Emperor glared at his late wife, showing her that he was very much serious.

"Are you really going to give up on the search for my children, _our children,_ after you went to all the trouble of sending them to Area 11 for their safety?" asked Marianne.

"It's been six years, Marianne. They're gone! Every year you ask the same question, and you get the very same answer. This year won't be any different. You know that I've used every available resource in finding Lelouch and Nunnally, what more do you want from me," replied Emperor Charles.

Marianne pouted, very much upset at the continued absence of her son and daughter. "What about the E.U., or China, did you ask them? Maybe those two managed to get out of Area 11 during the chaos of the invasion."

"Yes, I even searched in _Australia_ of all places. You shouldn't be so worried, Marianne. Once the Ragnarok Junction is complete, you will be reunited with them once again," said the Emperor, dismissing Marianne's spirit. The late Empress left with another pout, returning to the body of one young Anya Alstreim.

'**How much closer are you to completing this project, human?**' boomed a voice in Charles's head. To an ordinary person, hearing voices in your head would be a shocking experience, but Charles di Britannia has been hearing this particular voice since before his pact made with V.V. Even before he decided to kill the gods.

'The Sword of Akasha will be complete in roughly two years. That is the best I can do, and I hope you are satisfied with that,' answered the Emperor. For a moment, there was silence, as if the Voice was pondering his reply or maybe even conversing with another, before it spoke again.

'**Excellent, two years, to a being such as I, is nothing. I am glad for your progress, Charles di Britannia**,' stated the enigmatic Voice.

In the past when he had asked the Voice who or what it was, all Charles got was that the Voice was a…something. A something called…Seythlcoa.

_Arameth Orbital, Culture Space, 2016 a.t.b._

Oh, the pain. The excruciating pain in his head was soooo very…excruciating. Lelouch was currently experiencing what Earth humans would call a hangover. Normally most Culturniks can get as drunk as possible without even suffering the slightest headache in the morning. Obviously, this wasn't the case for the hung-over SC agent.

Opening his eyes to blinding light from the sun Arameth orbited around, Lelouch winced as the pain in his temple intensified. How the hell did he get hung-over? Wasn't genofixing supposed to remove this little, unfortunate side effect of being intoxicated by alcoholic beverages. Trying to recall what happened last night; Lelouch realized that he and the other party-goers must have turned on the ability to get hung-over, just for the chance of experiencing it.

Looking around, Lelouch saw dozens of his fellow party-goers, all naked as the day they were born. Looking down, he realized that he was nude as well.

Damn, another mass orgy, thought Lelouch. Too bad he could barely remember the details. It must have been a great orgy considering all of the insanely beautiful and attractive nude women just lying around him.

"There you are Lelouch!" called a familiar voice, catching the former prince's attention. It was Soren-Romana herself, Lelouch's drone companion. She proceeded to slap Lelouch in the face again with her fields.

"Ouch! What the hell was that for? Don't you know I'm hung-over, you insane machine!" exclaimed Lelouch, his head pounding like crazy.

"I am not insane! And that was for participating in such a lewd act of debauchery. Honestly, what do you have to say for yourself, Lelouch?" replied the Offensive drone.

Lelouch rubbed his head, irritated at the drone's loud voice, which just made his migraine worse. Seriously, what was her problem?

"This is not a "lewd act of debauchery", this is called sex. Considering you live in the Culture, aka orgy paradise, I'm highly surprised that you are so concerned over the fact that I just participated in one. This is after all not the first time you've seen me in this situation, and it is definitely _not _the worst thing you've caught me doing."

Romana was silent. Good, no snarky comeback, at least not for now. Lelouch took this temporary moment of quiet to observe his surroundings. The party had taken place on what appeared to be a fluffy, white cloud, but Lelouch know that it was merely a soligram composed of light and tactile force fields. The "cloud" was currently floating at a high altitude above the orbital's surface.

In the corner of his eyes, Lelouch noticed another one of his fellow party-goers stirring from their slumber. It was Liralei, an attractive girl possessing long, exotic green hair with blue streaks, and small but firm breast. Despite his hangover, the SC agent could vividly recall how sexy this girl had been last night.

"Oh, good morning Lelouch. You were really great last night. Do you have a hangover too?" inquired Liralei.

"Yes, it appears I do; a really bad one at that. But just looking at your unsurpassable beauty befit of an angel, and the wondrous, luminous glow of your body that matches the light of gridfire itself, I find myself feeling much better already," replied Lelouch. If Romana had eyes, she would be rolling them at that comment.

Liralei giggled, before responding, "Oh my, you're so old fashioned Lelouch. But that really turns me on. Wanna go again later, if you're not busy?"

Lelouch was about to accept her offer of sex when Romana interrupted saying, "Ahem, I kind of need to talk to Lelouch about something. Which is the reason why I came looking for him in the first place. It's private business. SC business. So…"

Lelouch gave a gesture of apology to Liralei before leaving with his partner drone.

Once they were away from her and the other party-goers, Lelouch asked, "So what's this private SC business you wanted to talk to me about?"

There was a short pause when Romana analyzed the surroundings with her effectors on full-spectrum sensor mode, in case anyone was eavesdropping. After making sure they were not being spied on, the Culture combat drone replied, "Number one: put some clothes on."

Remembering that he was still unclothed, Lelouch became embarrassed at his state of nudity. Alerting the Hub to his state of undress, Lelouch waited less than a second for a full outfit to materialize next to him. After putting it on, the former prince gestured for the drone to continue.

"Number two: turn your headache off. I can tell that you're still suffering from a self-inflicted hangover." Lelouch was about to protest this request; he had agreed to experience a hangover for fun after all, and it would be a waste if he just made it go away. But he realized that whatever Romana wanted to talk about was more important than his amusement, so he complied.

Seeing that Lelouch had done what she asked, the drone finally continued, "You see, the reason I'm here was because the Hub of this orbital has told me to inform you that the demilitarized Rapid Offensive Unit _Eternal Requiem_ has finally arrived in-system."

_dROU Eternal Requiem, Culture Space, 2016 a.t.b._

In a flash of light, Lelouch vi Britannia and Soren-Romana were displaced aboard the Culture Assassin class (demilitarized) Rapid Offensive Unit _Eternal Requiem_. The dROU was approximately 350 meters long, shaped like two trapezoidal boxes on top of each other with a cylinder sticking out of both ends. The gunmetal hull was composed of some unnamed, but most likely hyper advance, Culture armor material.

The lobby they had been displaced into had all of its walls, ceiling, and floor made completely of holographic view screen material that projected various scenes of nature. In the center of the room was a scarlet sofa, upon which an attractive, red-haired figure suddenly flickered into existence.

"Welcome, Lelouch vi Britannia and Soren-Romana, I am this Ship's avatar," spoke the redhead. The avatar made a dramatic motion with her hands, and suddenly a table with what seemed to be a Chess board materialized in front of her. "I heard you were the one responsible for bringing Chess to the Culture. Care for a game, Lelouch?"

Lelouch grinned. Chess was his element, his specialty. The one thing he liked more than overthrowing tyrants and their oppressive regimes. Sitting down in the chair which had came with the table, Lelouch replied, "Of course, it's not everyday I can get a challenge from a Culture Mind. I'll play black."

With that, the game of Chess began, and par for course, Lelouch's opening strategy involved the use of his king piece. "If the king does not lead, than how can his subjects follow," as he would always say.

"I'm sure you know that I didn't invite you onboard myself just for a round of chess. You must have questions," said the Ship avatar. Romana was keeping quiet, simply watching their exchange of kings, queens, knights, and pawns. She was just the spectator in this game of cunning and strategy.

"Well first, I noticed that you have an unusual name for a Culture ship. It actually has…gravitas," said Lelouch, while focusing on the game. He had just lost a knight to a clever trap and was inwardly berating himself for his mistake.

The avatar started to laugh before replying, "I know, I get that a lot. The whole gravitas thing is a sort of running gag amongst ship Minds. You should see my sister ship."

Lelouch nodded, paying more attention to his next move than anything the Culture Mind had to say. He had a plan that would give him a good chance of checkmating the White King in a few turns. If he could only just get the Mind to take his knight instead of his bishop, then his queen could place the White King in check.

But of course, that would leave his queen vulnerable to being eaten by a white pawn. He better not risk it. His black queen was not something he would just sacrifice for a chance at victory.

"You're quite an impressive player, Lelouch vi Britannia. Tell you what, if you last another four turns against me, then I'll let you know a little secret. A secret that you will find is to your liking, oh great Destroyer of Worlds," said the avatar, followed by another dramatic hand wave. The Eternal Requiem sure loved theatrics.

"A secret, eh. Now you've just made me curious. But I don't plan on _just_ lasting four rounds. I plan to _win_," declared the former prince with confidence. A confidence that promptly deflated when a white pawn had taken his black bishop.

Romana, who had been perfectly silent so far, content with simply watching, was now looking at the game with avid interest. Black had taken more enemy pieces, but White was in a better strategic situation. It didn't look good for the Destroyer of Worlds. Hovering next to her companion, the Offensive drone whispered, "Are you sure about this Lelouch? From where I'm looking, there doesn't seem to be a chance of you surviving the next two rounds, let alone four."

The SC agent just laughed without saying a word, before continuing the game by moving his king, which had been one turn away from being checked by the white queen. He was running out of options, and by the looks of it, the Mind wanted to corner his king for an easy checkmate. He was beginning to have doubts that he would survive long enough.

But survive he did. It wasn't until six rounds later that Lelouch's black king was finally trapped and placed in checkmate. Romana was just staring at the board with a slightly puzzled expression, mostly from the fact that her prediction had been incorrect. The Ship's avatar, on the other hand, looked positively delighted.

"Marvelous, simply marvelous, Lelouch! I have never before met a human who has ever given me such a challenge. I can see why you're a referrer. Some of the more unusual stratagems you used; I couldn't even understand them. I was torn between thinking they were just foolish mistakes, or part of some crazy, convoluted plot to obtain an impossible victory. Tell me, have you ever heard of the Player of Games."

Lelouch smiled. He had heard of Jernau Morat Gurgeh. He had hard many things about that man. The legendary player who mastered and then went beyond mastering every game he encountered, and whose greatest achievement was his key role in destroying the Empire of Azad, without a single weapon fired. Sometimes he wondered if the Player of Games had ever played chess. He hoped so. Meeting Gurgeh was one of his dream goals in the Culture, along side destroying Britannia and making love with Diziet Sma. And the one with the most chance of happening, unfortunately.

One day, he would challenge that man. And he would win.

"I've heard of a few things here and there. He seems interesting to meet," replied Lelouch casually, prompting another laugh from the avatar. Despite his look of nonchalance, the SC agent could not hide the twinkle in his eye.

'There's that expression again,' thought Romana. It was the expression he had whenever someone mentioned the Player of Games, his hero and potential rival. An expression he would never give her, because he could always beat her at games. At least, that was what Romana thought.

"Well I must say, this experience was absolutely enlightening, as far as a game of Chess goes, but how 'bout I tell you my little secret. Since you lasted more than four rounds, it's only fair," said the Culture Mind. "Fire away," said the exiled prince in response.

The avatar snapped her fingers for dramatic effect, causing the holographic floor to change scenes from a beautiful arctic landscape to the breathtaking view of a planet. The planet was blue, with green continents and wisps of heavenly white clouds scattered all over the surface. As the planet rotated, Romana could see the other side as well. The drone began counting the continents in both hemispheres. One, two, three, four, five, six. Oh, and what appeared to be a seventh one near the South Pole.

She knew it. This was Earth, Lelouch's home world.

"Looks familiar, doesn't it Lelouch. Do you miss it?" asked the Culture Mind.

Lelouch wondered. Did he? Was there some part of his being that still yearned for the world of his birth? Of course, there were people he missed. Like Suzaku, Euphie, and his mother. But one was dead, another was possibly dead, and the third was probably having too much fun living like the princess that she was. There wasn't really much worth missing back on Earth.

The same Earth where nations like Britannia existed and men like Charles di Britannia possessed immense power over the world. No he did not miss Earth. How could he, when he lived in a utopian paradise like the Culture, where his every desire was fulfilled and he didn't have to worry about anything. The Culture was a place where his beloved Nunnully was safe, happy, and most importantly neither crippled nor blind. Earth was like a medieval shithole in comparison.

Lelouch vi Britannia had absolutely no intention of returning to his old life back on Earth. But he did have the intention of returning for other reasons.

"Not really, life was hell back then. Ever since my mother was assassinated my life just kept getting worse. That is, until the Culture brought me and my sister in," said Lelouch.

The red-headed avatar gave a sad smile before placing her soligram hand on his gently. The hand was soft and warm, but he knew it wasn't real. It was just a hard light construct.

"I'm so sorry for your loss, Lelouch. It must have been terrible. Diziet Sma told me that she found you two in a war zone," spoke the avatar, her voice was filled with wisdom and compassion, and her holographic eyes shined with age that seemed inappropriate for one who looked so young. But she was a Culture Mind. She had probably lived for hundreds or even thousands of years.

"Thank you, Ship. But I must know. Why are you showing me a view of my home world?" asked the Britannian youth curiously.

The avatar gave a sly grin before replying, "Isn't it obvious. Earth shall be the location of your new mission."

Shock. Utter shock.

It was all so incredibly…shocking.

Lelouch just froze for a long moment, the expression of surprise, puzzlement, confusion, and maybe a little hope on his face was comical, yet tragic. Romana could almost see the gears in his amazing brain stopping and breaking down. She was surprised too, her aura field changing to the color of puzzlement, but not to the extent of Lelouch.

For there had been one wish the Culture could not grant for Lelouch vi Britannia; the destruction of the Britannian Empire and its ideals by his hands. The exiled prince had almost given up on ever fulfilling his oath to Suzaku six years ago. Almost.

After a few more moments of awkward silence, Lelouch finally got his mind and mouth to work again, "Pardon my language, but holy shit." Laughter erupted from both the avatar and the Culture combat drone.

"Are you that surprised at your new assignment, Lelouch vi Britannia," asked the Eternal Requiem's avatar, while continuing to laugh. It pained her to admit it, but she found much amusement in Lelouch's reaction.

"_Yes_! I've been told a million times that I would never be able to go on an SC mission to Earth; because the planet was some big control in an experiment designed to study civilization development. There are multiple treaties amongst the Involved that prevents the Culture and its peers from interfering on Earth. What changed?"

The redhead paused for a second before responding, "You see, there has been suspicion amongst SC that one of the other Involved has been interfering with Earth's development in the past. There is no hard evidence, but we Minds believe this is a strong possibility. Special Circumstances has always wanted to muck around on Earth, especially since you came along, but because of the experiment we could not. But if we find evidence that another Involved has tampered with Earth, then we could consider it a violation of the treaty and an excuse for intervention."

Seeing what she was getting at, Romana jumped into the conversation, "So you're basically saying that you want Lelouch to go to Earth and investigate any violations of the treaty?"

Yes," answered the Ship Mind, "but he is only to observe at first. Once you find concrete evidence, Lelouch, then you are free to interfere. But you must treat this as a very high risk mission. That means Culture equipment and Culture support. Romana will have to accompany you this time."

Lelouch's eyebrows raised a little at that last bit, "Wait, why? This is Earth, a relatively primitive, non-space faring civilization, not the Affronter Empire. I don't see any high risk involved. I really don't need any Culture tech helping me on this assignment." Romana was surprised too, but for different reasons. She was rather excited to go on another mission with Lelouch.

"It's not that simple, Lelouch," explained the soligram, "Remember, your first job is to observe and investigate any signs of extraterrestrial involvement. If you do not find any evidence, then that just means we can't go forward with the mission. But if you do, then that means that yes, another Involved civilization was tampering with Earth. That increases the risk by a huge margin. In that case, you might even encounter agents of another galactic polity who posses equal or even greater technology than the Culture. That's why I want you to ignore that "code" of yours and bring some actual SC equipment with you, along with Romana."

Lelouch grumbled a little bit before saying, "Fine, but on the condition that I only have to use Culture tech when I absolutely need it."

The avatar gave a warm smile before saying, "Good. Oh, and by the way, there will be another agent accompanying you on this mission."

Another spit take moment. For the sake of time, the only thing besides concert tickets that the Culture doesn't have an unlimited supply of, Lelouch decides to quickly recover from his surprise. "Are you serious? I've never had to work with another SC operative before, and I don't understand why I have to now. Is this mission really _that_ important? Besides, who exactly is going to be working with me?" asked the Destroyer of Worlds.

"That would be me," said a new voice from behind, "And yes, this mission really is _that_ important."

Turning around, Soren-Romana and Lelouch vi Britannia came to gaze upon a beautiful dark haired goddess. It was Rasd-Corduresa Diziet Embless Sma da' Marenhide herself, in all her glory.

Grinning from ear to ear, Lelouch immediately got up from his seat and _ran_ to Diziet in excitement. Romana could practically detect the spike in testosterone levels. Lelouch pulled his savior into a warm embrace, catching her off guard for a moment.

"It's good to see you, Lulu," said the female SC agent, with genuine affection. "It's _great_ to see you, Dizzy," replied the former prince. "I thought I told you not to call me that," joked Diziet. "I thought I told you not to call me Lulu," countered Lelouch.

"Touché."

It had been over three months since Diziet had seen the raven-haired teen. In those three months, Lelouch had grown again. Now he was just as tall as her, when before he had been a few inches shorter. His hair had also become longer, and his cheekbones were more defined.

Did she mention how much more attractive he had become. If this trend continued, Lelouch would soon have massive legions of horny fan girls from all over the Culture. It was fortunate that she wasn't interested in minors, because if she was, she would probably become one of them.

But as soon as he became a full adult…

It definitely helped that Lelouch had a major crush on her.

"Warning, sensors indicate a massive increase in arousal coming from the human male designated "Lelouch vi Britannia". 167% chance that the male wishes to mate with human female designated "Diziet Sma". Suggested action: castration of the male's genitalia," said another voice. It was Diziet's suitcase-shaped drone companion, Skaffen-Amtiskaw.

Lelouch chuckled before replying, "Fuck you too, Skaffy, fuck you too."

"Speaking of "fuck you too", wait till you see the equipment that you'll be using on this mission," said the drone, "Oh, and nice eye patch."

"I got him to go to a pirate costume party two weeks ago," said Romana.

"Did you? Wow, that's just mean," said Diziet, "Sounds like something Skaffy would do."

"That's it!" exclaimed Lelouch, "I'm getting my eye fixed as soon as possible. Who knew having an eye patch would be such a pain in the ass."

"I can do that for you," stated the Ship's avatar, "As soon as we're done discussing your new mission."

"Ah yes, the mission. Let's see, where were we," said Lelouch, "I think I was about to ask Diziet why she decided to go on this mission with me. I mean, I'm extremely flattered that you would, but I'm just curious."

Diziet Sma took a seat on the plush, red sofa before answering, "Well, normally I really don't do any of the dirty work, that's Zakalwe's job, but this time, I felt that I should try a more hand-on approach. Besides, no offense to you Romana, but I don't really trust you alone to be able to make sure that Lelouch doesn't do anything stupid or daring."

At that point, Romana was glaring knife missiles at the female SC agent. Lelouch smirked before saying sarcastically, "You wound my pride Diziet; when have I ever done anything stupid or daring."

"Oh I don't know, maybe causing a _meteor drop_ on your last mission," said Diziet.

Lelouch just laughed without saying anything, already having gone through this conversation numerous times before with Soren-Romana.

"Anyways," interrupted the Culture Mind, "would Mr. Amtiskaw kindly explain the details of this assignment."

The suitcase drone gave the mechanical equivalent of a nod and then began, "First, let's start with equipment. Besides the standard Culture gelfield suit that most SC agents use, Diziet and Lelouch will also be equipped with the new FYT Mk. VII Battle Armor. Tough enough to protect its user from gigaton-level firepower and the deadliest, most hazard-filled environments in the galaxy; even without its automated defensive force fields, the FYT Mk. VII is the top of the line and state of the art when it comes to biological combat systems. The armor is equipped with defensive, mirror, locomotive, and dark field projectors, a drone-level effector, two knife missiles, and a semi-sentient battle computer which reacts to danger based on overall threat level. "

Skaffen-Amtiskaw projected a holographic image of the sleek, jet black FYT before continuing, "When operated by the battle computer or a sufficiently augmented biological, the FYT can maneuver and engage in combat at high-level hypersonic velocities. It also possesses a small Warp drive for long-distance travel."

The hologram began playing a short tutorial video of an FYT user fighting several training drones. "Finally, the FYT has an integrated self-repair system, and will adjust and modify itself to fit the user's preferences and characteristics."

Lelouch gave a low whistle before saying, "Impressive. But what does "FYT" stand for?"

"If you really must know, FYT means "Fuck You Too"," replied Skaffen-Amtiskaw, "It was Zakalwe's idea. He named the FYT Mk. I."

"Ah I see. That sounds like him," said Lelouch while laughing.

"Let's move on to weapons, Skaffy," added Diziet.

The holographic image of the FYT disappeared, replaced by a highly complicated and futuristic rifle-like weapon, "This...is the Advance Micro Armament System Rifle. An improved version of the older Micro Armament System Rifle, but without the need for extensive training," explained the masculine Offensive drone, "It has ten different weapon systems; exawatt-level Coherent Radiation Energy Weapons or CREWs, a heavy plasma cannon, an electromagnetic effector, a single knife missile, a scout missile for reconnaissance, offensive field projectors, and the ability to fire guided anti-personal smart bullets, micro flechette canisters, gigaton-yield CAM-tipped nanomissiles, and nanohole grenades."

The image of the AMASR expanded to show its various components, "While the AMASR can run out of ammunition, it can always manufacture more ammo by converting energy from the Grid, although this takes some time. The AMASR also includes semi-sentient guard facilities, reactive shield components, IFF-set quick-reaction swing packs, an AG unit, and of course, fully adjustable weight, balance, and other variables. Like the FYT, the AMASR is operated via neural lace interface."

The hologram changed again, now showing an advance combat pistol, "This is the LPP-1050 Light Plasma Projector. While the AMASR will be your primary weapon, this is your backup. It's a rare weapon; the Culture does not make many handguns nowadays. Antimatter-powered with a max ROF of 900 RPS, and a full power shot rated at 6.21e14 kilo joules. Includes semi-automatic, full auto, burst mode, pulse shot, continuous beam, wide-beam, spread-shot, gyroscopic weave patterns, gravity-contour, curve, splatter, and pierce settings. Only usable by genofixed Culturniks. Oh, and did I mention that it's about as smart as an Earthborn dolphin," finished Skaffen-Amtiskaw, his holographic field projector finally turned off.

"That's a lot of firepower just for a mission to Earth. With just the plasma pistol alone I could single-handedly destroy Britannia, if that was the objective," said Lelouch.

"If that was the objective," said the Ship's avatar, "but it's not that simple. Finish the rest of the mission briefing, Skaffen-Amtiskaw"

"Yes, Your Majesty." replied the suitcase drone sarcastically, "Once the dROU _Eternal Requiem_ arrives near Sol System in about 3 weeks, we will take an in-system module craft to Earth itself. The Requiem will remain within 100 light years of Sol in order to provide heavy, long-range support if needed. Once we reach that point, then the rest of the mission is your call, Lelouch, since you have the most knowledge of Earth. Any questions?"

"I have one," said Romana, "What exactly is our end goal?"

Well," said the avatar, "this mission really has two stages. The first stage is finding evidence that another Involved civilization has been interfering with Earth's development. The second stage, which can only begin if hard evidence is found supporting our position, will be basic interference. There are three main goals for the second stage; ending the discrimination and expansionist nature of the Britannian Empire while promoting egalitarianism amongst its society, liberating the Areas conquered by Britannia, and reducing poverty and corruption within the Chinese Federation."

Three goals, three primary objectives. It seemed simple enough, especially for the Destroyer of Worlds. But that did not take into account any potential encounters with other Involved factions on Earth. If it turned out that another Optimae civilization was involved, then SC would have a major problem. If it was a Sublimed or Eldar civilization, then Lelouch could kiss this mission good bye.

What he thought was overkill at first was beginning to seem like a necessary precaution.

"Well, that concludes the mission briefing," declared Skaffen-Amtiskaw, interrupting Lelouch's musings.

"I'm sure you must be tired, Lelouch, after so much stuff being thrown at you," said Diziet with concern, "Why don't we go see Nunnally now?"

Lelouch's heart skipped a beat. He was so focused on his new assignment that he had almost forgotten that Nunnally was also onboard the Requiem.

The former prince was about to enthusiastically _command_ Diziet to take him to his beloved sister when the Ship's avatar interrupted him, "Hold that thought. I still have to fix your left eye, remember. And…I have one more bit of shocking news for you."

All eyes were on the holographic red-haired avatar as she paused dramatically.

"I, the demilitarized Rapid Offensive Unit _Eternal Requiem_, hereby ask Sol-Terrasa Lelouch Lamperouge vi Britannia da Pendragon if he would wish to become my one and only Captain, and I his personal vessel."

_Unknown, Culture Space, 2016 a.t.b._

[Swept-to-tight-beam M25 .2 received m2]

XROU _My Sister Stole All the Gravitas_

XGSV _Culture Shock_

XGOU_ Compensating for Something_

oGCV _Hello and Goodbye_

I was just coming back from a diplomatic mission to Seythlcoan space when I decided to snoop around. I think all of you will be very interested in what I've discovered.

(file attached)

XGCV _Hello and Goodbye_

oROU _My Sister Stole All the Gravitas_

That's a lot of warships!

XROU _My Sister Stole All the Gravitas_

oGOU _Compensating for Something_

A lot of warships indeed. It was a very good thing that the Hello and Goodbye came across this before it was too late.

XGOU _Compensating for Something_

oGCV _Hello and Goodbye_

Thank you, I try my best. I think that if the Seythlcoa are starting to fully mobilize their military, then there is a huge possibility that we will be at war soon. We must prepare our defenses and not make the same mistakes of the Idiran War.

XROU _My Sister Stole All the Gravitas_

XGOU_ Compensating for Something_

XGCV _Hello and Goodbye_

oGSV _Culture Shock_

I agree with the Hello and Goodbye. The Idirans' success during the first stages of the war was only due to our lack of readiness. If we have the same attitude in a war against Seythlcoa, who are more powerful and advance in every way, then we will surely lose.

XGSV _Culture Shock_

oGOU _Compensating for Something_

Then we need to warn the rest of the Culture. Contact needs to begin full mobilization. We should also start sending Special Circumstance agents to get some key Intel. And it wouldn't hurt to see if we could get some allies amongst the other Optimae.

XGOU _Compensating for Something_

oROU _My Sister Stole All the Gravitas_

What about the prototype ships. Should we start full production of those too?

XROU _My Sister Stole All the Gravitas_

oGOU _Compensating for Something_

Are you talking about the SHOUs? Yes we should, I think they'll definitely come in handy.

XROU _My Sister Stole All the Gravitas_

XGSV _Culture Shock_

XGOU_ Compensating for Something_

oGCV _Hello and Goodbye_

Do you guys think this has something to do with the seven Eldar artifacts? The Seythlcoa have been dying to get their hands on ours; they've been bugging us about them for months.

XGCV _Hello and Goodbye_

oGSV _Culture Shock_

I think you're right. Just in case, we should divert extra protection to the artifact within our possession.

XROU _My Sister Stole All the Gravitas_

XGSV _Culture Shock_

XGOU_ Compensating for Something_

oGCV _Hello and Goodbye_

Guys, I've just been hailed by a Morthanveld ship! They want to discuss an alliance. I think they're worried about war with the Seythlcoa too. Hold on, I'll get back to you guys later.

(GCV _Hello and Goodbye_ ends communication)

XROU _My Sister Stole All the Gravitas_

XGSV _Culture Shock_

oGOU _Compensating for Something_

Well that was interesting. It sure would be great if the Morts decided to become our allies. Gives the Seythlcoa a little something to think about before declaring war.

XGOU _Compensating for Something_

oGSV _Culture Shock_

Indeed.

XROU _My Sister Stole All the Gravitas_

oGSV _Culture Shock_

By the way, I heard that your sister ship decided to become the personal vessel of one Lelouch vi Britannia. Also known as the Destroyer of Worlds.

XROU _My Sister Stole All the Gravitas_

oGOU _Compensating for Something_

I heard about that too.

XGSV _Culture Shock_

XGOU _Compensating for Something_

oROU _My Sister Stole All the Gravitas_

Yeah she did! Trust me; I'm just as surprised as you guys are. Although my sister ship _is_ somewhat of an eccentric. Always has been, ever since we were constructed together onboard the GSV _I'm No Moon_ and she decided to give herself a name with some actual _gravitas_.

XROU _My Sister Stole All the Gravitas_

oGSV _Culture Shock_

It's all quite fascinating. A Ship Mind hasn't allowed itself to become the personal vessel of any one individual in a very long time, centuries perhaps.

XGSV _Culture Shock_

XROU _My Sister Stole All the Gravitas_

oGOU _Compensating for Something_

Well, if I wanted to become someone's personal vessel, which I don't, I guess Lelouch vi Britannia would be as good a candidate as any. Anyways, I need to get going. I've been called by Restoria to deal with a nasty case of Aggressive Homogenizing Swarms.

(GOU _Compensating for Something _ends communication)

XROU _My Sister Stole All the Gravitas_

oGSV _Culture Shock_

So, did you get those plans I asked of you?

XGSV _Culture Shock_

oROU _My Sister Stole All the Gravitas_

Of course, boss. I got them right here.

(file attached)

XROU _My Sister Stole All the Gravitas_

oGSV _Culture Shock_

Excellent.

(end signal file)

_Shinjuku Ghetto, Tokyo Settlement, Area 11, Earth, 2016 a.t.b._

The meeting was today. It was the first major planning session that Ohgi Kaname would be in charge of, and he was unbelievably nervous. Forty-five men from all over Shinjuku Ghetto were going to be here, most of them new recruits. Forty-five courageous individuals who would all look to him, the former teacher turned terrorist leader, to inspire them, to motivate them, and to lead them. The resistance cell has never been larger.

It was expected of course. Their group was no longer fighting for independence. They were fighting for survival. The inhabitants of Shinjuku were terrified of their Britannian overlords' new secret project, Code-R. It was an experimental poison gas according to their sleeper agent, an Honorary Britannian named Saito Nakejima. There were rumors that it would be released into the Ghetto, killing its Japanese residence.

Ohgi wished he could go back to being a teacher. Things were much simpler back then; before the invasion, before becoming a terrorist, and before his best friend's demise.

The meeting was about to begin. There were forty three men all accounted for, two men missing. And they were all cramped up in a small abandoned warehouse with broken car parts and unopened boxes and crates still lying around. The lighting was bad, he could barely see in front of his own face, and the smell was worse. The floor was damp, and the walls were covered in graffiti.

They would just have to make due with this; they were no JLF after all.

Looking around, Ohgi could see some familiar faces, and many unfamiliar ones. There was the loud-mouthed Tamaki Shinichirou of course, the blue-haired Kento Sugiyama, Inoue, Yoshida, and Yoshitaka, wearing his glasses. All of them were his and Naota's friends, forming the core group of their little resistance. There was one key figure missing though.

This time, he had specifically _ordered_ Kallen to stay home. Kallen Kozuki Stadtfield, being the fiery younger sister of Naoto himself, initially refused to be left out of their little meeting, but he was adamant. He had already lost Naoto just a few months ago. He refused to lose his baby sister as well, even if he had to do without their most talented Knightmare devicer.

"Hey everyone, listen up!" yelled Ohgi, trying to be as commanding and confident as possible in order to hide his anxiety, "The meeting is about to start soon. We have a lot of very important info we need to discuss about this Code-R Project, and we would all appreciate your cooperation."

"When the hell are those damn Brits gonna use this Code-R thing on the Ghetto," asked a bald-headed Japanese man whose name escaped him, "I have a wife and two kids living with me in Shinjuku, and I'd rather give a snobby Brit noble a blowjob than let them get killed by some stupid poison gas!"

The man's comment caused the room to erupt in mild laughter, but it did nothing to remove the somber atmosphere of the room. These people were frightened. Their lives and their families' lives were all potentially threatened by Code-R. Some of these men could probably care less if Japan was Japan or Area 11, as long as they could stop Code-R from killing their loved ones.

It was nothing but false hope though. The Britannians didn't need poison gas just to destroy a single Japanese ghetto. They had bombs and knightmare frames.

"Well, we don't actually know when the Britannians are going to use Code-R. We're not even sure if they'll use it at all," replied Ohgi, "but it's still a major threat to not only this ghetto, but all of the Japanese people. We can't allow Code-R to remain in Britannian hands as long as we can do something about it."

"Then what are we waiting for!" exclaimed another man, "Tell us the plan already. How are we going to steal this thing?"

"It's not that simple," said a new voice. It was a Japanese man wearing a business suit, with unruly, bluish black hair, thick rimmed glasses, and carrying a large briefcase. He was Saito Nakejima, their man on the inside.

"Oh look, it's the honorary Brit," said Tamaki smugly, "That's a nice suit. How many times have you had to bow down to your Britannian masters to get that?" Tamaki was never a fan of Honorary Britannians, and it definitely showed. It seemed that many of the others agreed with him, as they sneered and glared venomously at Saito.

"Calm down, everyone," said Ohgi, "You all know that Saito only became an Honorary Britannian to help us. He's the reason why we even know about Code-R in the first place, and you should all show him your respect. Anyways, would you like to start your presentation now, Saito?"

"It would be my pleasure, Ohgi," began the Honorary Britannian, "I hope you all appreciate this. I had to go through _a lot_ for this piece of information, including, among other things, making a deal with Britannia itself."

Suddenly, Saito pulled out a concealed handgun from within his suit, pointing the weapon directly at Ohgi. Everyone was shocked; despite their disdain for Saito and his fancy business suit, no one had expected him to actually double cross them.

"I-is this s-some type of joke. Put t-that gun away Saito, before someone gets hurt," said Ohgi, trying and failing to sound tough. He had had guns pointed at him before, but Ohgi would never get used to the sight of such a lethal weapon, with its barrel like an eye of death looking straight at him. His life was at the mercy of the gun's user; one pull of the trigger would send him into permanent unconsciousness; the eternal slumber called Death.

"This is no joke, Ohgi. I'm sorry, but-," continued Saito before being interrupted by one of the new recruits exclaiming, "The honorary Brit is a damn traitor! I knew we couldn't trust this whore!"

The recruit pulled out his own concealed weapon and was about to shoot the traitor when a loud bang of gunfire was heard. Dropping his gun, the recruit clutched his bleeding chest before promptly collapsing to the ground. He had been shot by a Britannian soldier standing in the doorway, clad in one of their trademark combat suits.

More Britannian infantry men filed in through the door, wielding a variety of assault rifles, carbines, and SMGs. Leading them was an old, battle-hardened officer, who stood at the center of their formation. The officer spoke, "All of you are now under arrest for treason against His Majesty, Emperor Charles di Britannia, and will be executed immediately with no trial."

The Britannian soldiers all aimed their weapons at the Japanese rebels, ready to shoot and kill them all as soon as their commanding officer gave the order. Ohgi, realizing that his time had come, silently thanked God that Kallen wasn't here with them. She would survive, and his promise to Naoto to keep her safe would be fulfilled.

"Well, Mr. Nakejima, It seems that you have provided a great service to His Majesty," said the smug snake of a Britannian officer, "You will be rewarded for this. But first, you must show your devotion to the Empire by shooting the scum who's in charge of this wretched hive of Elevens."

Understanding what had been asked of him, Saito prepared to shoot his friend whom he had betrayed. "You were always too trusting, Ohgi, naïve and idealistic as well. You should have stopped all this nonsense when Naoto died. When will you learn that Japan will never be free," stated the double agent coldly.

Closing his eyes, the former teacher prepared himself to embrace death when suddenly, a giant crimson figure slammed through the adjacent walls, killing a few of the Britannian soldiers. It was a red knightmare frame, a Glasgow model to be specific. Ohgi didn't need to be a genius to figure out who was piloting it.

The soldiers were in disarray. They tried to shoot the humanoid mecha, but their puny anti-personal weapons failed to penetrate its thick armor. The red frame's devicer, Kallen Kozuki, activated the Glasgow's stun tofa. She swept the knightmare's arms right and left, killing more soldiers with the large tonfas. Saito fired at the Glasgow's "head" while Kallen brought up the Glasgow's right arm for a crushing downward swing, but his low caliber pistol rounds had no effect. Acting quickly, Ohgi struck the distracted honorary Britannian in the back of the head, knocking him unconscious. With all the chaos, he barely noticed the rest of the resistance members fleeing from the conflict.

"We still need him," said Ohgi, "He has the Code-R info in his briefcase."

"Then take him with you and go!" exclaimed Kallen, using the speakers on the Glasgow, "I'll handle this."

"What! No, I'm not leaving you behind. I promised Naoto to keep you safe. You're coming with us, Kallen."

Feeling more gunfire coming from behind her, Kallen turned the Glasgow around to find the two remaining Britannian soldiers shooting at her with automatic weapons. The half-Japanese youth fired her knightmare's slash harkens, crushing both soldiers instantly, before she continued speaking, "I'm the only one standing between you guys and certain death. You have to trust me, Ohgi! I'll definitely survive this. So just go!"

Ohgi wanted to protest more, but he knew he couldn't argue with her. Reluctantly, Ohgi Kaname ran off, dragging Saito's unconscious body and his briefcase with him. He needed to find Tamaki and the others. During all the confusion, most of his resistance cell had fortunately escaped with their lives.

Meanwhile, Kallen was holding off Britannian reinforcements. Thanks to the element of surprise; the Britannians didn't expect them to have knightmares, there had only been infantry for her to slaughter, but she knew reinforcements would be coming soon. She was good, but she didn't know how long she would last against Britannian knightmare frames in her beat up Glasgow.

A concussion grenade exploded, damaging one of her land spinners. Damn, thought Kallen, even the infantry are being a pain in the ass. If she only had some long-range weapons with her Glasgow, like an assault rifle, this would be much easier. Unfortunately, when they had found this Glasgow in an abandoned junk yard before her brother had died, it only came with stun tonfas and slash harkens.

Detecting a blip on the Glasgow's outdated motion sensor, Kallen had her machine quickly sidestep out of the way of an exploding artillery shell. Finally, the big guns are here.

"Bring it on," said Kallen to herself, before continuing her Glasgow's elegant dance, skillfully dodging the artillery fire hammering her position. Thanks to their maneuverability and sophisticated warning systems, long-range BVR fire is mostly ineffective against knightmare frames, especially in urban environments. Untouchable, the red knightmare continued to gracefully evade shell after shell, as the rain of fire and steel did more damage to the Britannian infantrymen than it did to her. It showed how much Britannians disregard the lives of their own soldiers.

If they wanted to take her down, they would have to do it up close and personal.

As if hearing her thoughts, a slash harken is shot at Kallen's knightmare out of nowhere; the wired projectile is just barely deflected by her Glasgow's stun tonfa. Turning her frame's factsphere in the direction of the attack, the red-haired devicer spots two RPI-13 Sutherland knightmare frames in the distance. Being fifth generation frames; the Sutherlands were more advanced then her antique Glasgow in every way.

Both Sutherlands begin firing their knightmare-scale assault rifles at her, but she gracefully dodges their fire, with the exception of the occasional lucky shot nicking her frame's armor. Attempting to get within close range of the enemy Sutherlands, Kallen's Glasgow swerves unpredictably, before firing her harken. The rocket-propelled anchor misses, but digs into the ground near one of the Sutherland's metallic foot. Using the embedded slash harken as an anchor, Kallen jumps in and delivers a brutal kick to the bluish-purple frame's shoulder, knocking the Sutherland to the ground.

Its companion, however, quickly responds with its own slash harken to her Glasgow's face, knocking its head off and destroying her primary sensor unit. Kallen immediately switches to her backup cameras, just in time to witness the Sutherland shoot at her with its rifle. With no time to evade, the red frame blocks the barrage of 60mm HEAP rounds with its armored forearms. Thinking quickly, Kallen fires a slash harken at a nearby building.

The Glasgow jumps again and uses it's harken as a retractable grapple, allowing it to safely land on top of the short building's roof. For the moment, Kallen is safe from the Sutherlands' fire, and uses the short amount of time to think of a strategy. The Britannian devicer doesn't give her that time, however, opting instead to shoot the building with his Sutherland's grenade launcher. The small structure collapses, and luckily Kallen's knightmare is able to leap away at the last minute.

Landing roughly in front of a Sutherland, Kallen quickly commands her Glasgow to deliver a hard-hitting punch to the Britannian frame, knocking it down. The downed Sutherland is easy prey for her slash harkens and is destroyed before the pilot can even eject. Unfortunately for the half-Japanese teenager, the other Sutherland reacts instantly, letting loose a barrage of automatic fire.

Attempting to block the shots with her Glasgow's arm fails and causes the already damaged limb to be destroyed. Kallen immediately ejects the now useless mechanical appendage before preparing her slash harken to fire. The enemy Sutherland stops her though by shooting his grenade launcher at the Glasgow, hitting it directly in the chest. The fourth generation knightmare is critically damaged; it's Yggdrasil drive ruptured and unstable.

"I promised Ohgi that I would survive this, and I fully intend to honor my word," said Kallen with determination while keying in the timed self-destruct sequence.

The red Glasgow suddenly accelerates, gaining impressive velocity and momentum as it prepares to rush the remaining enemy knightmare frame. The Britannian Sutherland unleashes a burst of automatic fire, but its shots missed the erratically dodging crimson knightmare. The Glasgow collides with the fifth-gen frame, smashing it into an adjacent building. Kallen quickly ejects just before the self-destruct on her Glasgow activates, taking out the Sutherland unit in an explosion of intense heat and metal shrapnel.

'Damn Brits,' thought Kallen as the parachutes on her ejection pod opened up, 'Do you guys have any idea how hard it was just to get that Glasgow to work.'

Meanwhile, in a dark alleyway near the building where the resistance held their last meeting, Saito Nakejima awoke to find his own gun pointed directly at him by none other than Ohgi Kaname himself.

"I trusted you," said Ohgi, his voice laced with disappointment and regret. Saito had been a close friend, a childhood friend in fact. When they were just boys, Saito and him would always read manga and play together. When they grew up and Ohgi met Naoto, they didn't see each other as often, but they still kept in touch. Before today, Saito was the last person that Ohgi would consider a potential traitor.

"Like I said, you were always too trusting," replied Saito. The two former friends just stared at each other intensely, as if daring the other to act, before Ohgi suddenly punched the honorary Britannian right in the nose.

"That's for what you did today, traitor," stated Ohgi coldly, "Now talk! Why did you betray us to Britannia?"

Saito hesitated, as if pondering what to do. That was just who he was; even at gunpoint Saito Nakejima would never do something without thinking of the potential consequences. Reluctantly, the honorary Britannian began to speak, "I wasn't planning on betraying you or anyone at first. But then, after I had discovered Code-R, the Britannians caught me. Then they threatened me, Ohgi, they threatened me and not _just_ me, but my family as well. They took my wife and little Sakura, and held them at gunpoint, right in fucking _front_ of me! I couldn't do a damn thing; I was completely powerless to save my own damn family! I thought it was over right then and there, but they gave me a choice…I'm sorry Ohgi, but it was either you or my family."

Ohgi looked at his former friend with pity. He didn't have a family of his own, but he could sympathize with Saito; having your wife and kid threatened in front of you is definitely a good excuse for betrayal. That didn't change the fact that he was still a traitor though.

"So, are you happy now," replied Ohgi stoically, "You betrayed us for the Brits. And now your family is safe. Isn't that what you came here to do?"

"I wish that were true, Ohgi, I really do. But the condition for my family's safety was the _successful_ arrest and execution of your terrorist group. Since that obviously failed, they're going to kill my family anyways," said Saito with melancholy; tears were beginning to form in his eyes, "You might as well kill me now. I don't have anything left; my wife and daughter were everything to me."

"I pity you, Saito," said Ohgi before pulling the trigger, ending the honorary Britannian's life. Realizing the magnitude of what he had just done, the terrorist leader dropped his gun before falling to his knees. He was shaking uncontrollably.

"He was your friend, wasn't he," said a new voice. Ohgi turned around to find Kallen looking at him with warm sympathy in her baby-blue eyes.

Yes, he is," replied Ohgi while closing Saito's lifeless eyes, "I'm glad you're safe, Kallen. What happened to the Glasgow?"

Kallen frowned before answering, "I was outnumbered and had to ditch it. I'm sorry, Ohgi."

"Its fine, Kallen, as long as you're safe. We still have that other Glasgow we found in the junkyard anyways. It's still a piece of scrap, but we can probably get it to work just like the first one," said Ohgi, "By the way, I remember telling you to stay home."

Kallen gave the former teacher a little glare before replying, "If I had listened, you would all be dead right now."

Ohgi chuckled. Kallen was right, the red-haired pilot and her outdated knightmare frame was the sole reason for their continued survival. In the future, he would make sure to stop being an overprotective mother hen and allow Kallen to participate more in the resistance. He needed to stop treating Kallen like a child after all, because she definitely was not one.

The two resistance members remained silent for a moment before Kallen continued, "You know, we could still steal it; Code-R that is." Ohgi looked at her with a somewhat puzzled expression.

Kallen pointed at Saito's briefcase, still lying on the ground next to its former owner's dead body. Ohgi had almost forgotten about it, with everything that had happened. "This briefcase has all of the info on Code-R that Saito found. Even without Saito we could still use his briefcase to think of our own plan. We just need to gather the others first," said Kallen.

"Well then, let's have a look," replied Ohgi. He took the black briefcase and just examined it at first. This was the key to Code-R after all; it was to be handled with care. The former teacher prepared to open it, and with a sharp click, the briefcase's internal content was exposed to the world.

It was empty.

"Damn it, Saito, you _bastard_!" exclaimed Ohgi while he punched the wall in frustration, "we were so close!"

There was another awkward pause. Both Kallen and Ohgi were inwardly angry; every thing that had happened that night had been a complete waste because of this. They had lost not only Saito and the Glasgow, but most importantly, they had lost a chance to strike back against their Britannian overlords. The empty briefcase was just adding insult to injury.

"Well, what to we do now?" asked the half-Japanese youth.

Sitting down, Ohgi placed his hand on his chin and began to ponder the situation for a moment. "I honestly have no clue," answered the former teacher bluntly, "Saito was our only source of info on Code-R, and now he's dead and his briefcase is empty. We have no info, no leads, absolutely nothing. If we still want to go after Code-R, we'll have to start all over."

Kallen nodded her head before replying, "I think we should think about this later. Right now we should really get the hell out of this place. I tried to hold off as many Britannians as I could but there were just too many. They probably have reinforcements searching this entire area for us."

"You're right. It's not safe here for the time being," said Ohgi, "I'm gonna head over to one of our safe houses and see if I can contact Tamaki and the others. I suggest that you get out of the ghetto and head right back to the Britannian settlement."

The red-haired teenager began protesting immediately, "What! Why do I have to go back to the Stadtfelds? I want to go with you guys!"

"_Listen to me, Kallen_! The Stadtfeld residence is most likely the safest place in the world for you to be right now. No ands, ifs, or buts about it. You hear me!"

Kallen was about to argue again but stopped herself. Uttering a short goodbye, the redhead took off in the opposite direction. Ohgi looked down at his watch. It was already 2:30 in the morning.

Boy, what a long night.

TBC

A.N. Another chapter down, I hope it was an enjoyable read. If it wasn't, then sue me. Okay, don't sue me, I don't like getting sued. But you get the point. Read and review, people!


	4. Chapter 3: A Taste of Utopia

Author's note: This chapter is basically one huge flashback, so I'm sorry if it might bore any one who wants to get further with the storyline, but it's necessary. And hopefully people will enjoy this chapter nonetheless.

Disclaimer: Code Geass is owned by Sunrise and the Culture series by Iain M. Banks. I am not making any profit on this fanfic whatsoever.

Chapter 3: A Taste of Utopia

_GSV Go Hang a Salami, I'm a Lasagna Hog, 100 Light Years from Sol, 2010 a.t.b._

Lelouch was dead. He was absolutely sure of it.

After all, there was no other explanation for waking up in the softest, most comfortable bed imaginable with a beautiful angel, no, a goddess staring at him with a look of concern on her face. He had to be dead. And by the looks of it, this was Heaven.

"It seems you're finally awake, Lelouch," said the goddess with an unusual accent; as if English wasn't her first language. Who knows, maybe they speak some divine language in Heaven that ordinary mortals can't even comprehend, thought Lelouch. That's when the raven-haired youth suddenly remembered everything; his past, Britannia, his mother's death, exile to Japan, the invasion, and the searing flash of pain and light he had felt before waking up here.

Oh God, thought Lelouch, that must have been how I died. A stray artillery shell, maybe. And Nunnally was there to, he recalled. He sincerely hoped that Nunnally had survived, and that she was able to make it out of that hellhole. But the chances of a blind, crippled little girl surviving a battlefield were…infinitesimal.

"Oh big brother, you're awake!" exclaimed a new voice. The voice was familiar. Turning towards the direction, Lelouch saw a little girl. She looked like Nunnally. She had his little sister's hair, her face, her figure, and her height. But this couldn't be Nunnally! Her eyes; they were open; not shut completely closed from the world like Nunnally's had been. And she was _standing_. Her legs looked perfectly functional, not at all crippled like his little sister had been. There was no wheelchair in site.

"W-who are you?" Lelouch asked not-Nunnally.

"What do you mean, brother? It's me, Nunnally," said the Nunnally imposter.

"That's strange," said the goddess, "He shouldn't be suffering from any memory loss."

Lelouch started to tear up. Did no one understand him? Here he was, waking up in an unfamiliar place, with a goddess and an inaccurate clone of his little sister, and they were wondering if _he _had memory loss. This whole situation was just so _frustrating_.

"What are you talking about? You can't be Nunnally," continued Lelouch, "My little sister is blind and crippled. And you're not. No matter how much you look like her." Not-Nunnally just looked at him in complete puzzlement. It was a very realistic expression. Maybe this imposter was brainwashed into believing that she was actually his beloved sister, thought Lelouch. It would explain the look of rejection in her eyes.

"I'm afraid that the Nunnally in front of you is 100% real," said the goddess while laughing, "Is it so hard to believe that you're sister could have been healed while you were asleep?"

That's impossible, thought Lelouch. But if this goddess was telling him that, than maybe, just maybe, it was true. But he was dead. Lelouch was in Heaven now. Could that mean that this little girl in front of him, claiming to be his little sister, was really Nunnally, and that in Heaven her soul took this form. The form of a girl with opened eyes and unbroken legs.

That meant that Nunnally was also dead.

The ten year old started to cry, "N-Nunnally, I'm so sorry for d-doubting you. It's just that, this is s-so hard to believe. The way that you're walking and you're eyes are open. And how we're both dead now and in Heaven…"

"_DEAD_! Is that what this is? You think you're dead and you're in the afterlife," said the goddess in a mixture of surprise and amusement, "No, Lelouch, you're very much alive. This is no afterlife."

Lelouch blanched. He was not dead. Then…where the hell were they? "If this isn't Heaven, then w-who are you? And what is this…place?" He asked the not-goddess.

Nunnally decided to answer for her, "Big brother, this is the place where the _really_ nice people live. They call themselves the Culture. And they're _ALIENS!"_

It all makes sense now, thought Lelouch. He wasn't in Heaven, no, he was in a dream. Everything bad that happened had been a dream. His mother's assassination, his and Nunnally's exile to Japan, Suzaku, the invasion, and now this. This was the end. This was the part where he started dreaming about meeting nice aliens in an ascetic, pristine white room, and pretty soon he would wake up. His mother would be alive, and he would be a Britannian prince again.

It all made sense.

Lelouch decided to humor dream Nunnally and this dream goddess. "So, you're an alien. Funny, you look pretty human. And what is the Culture," he asked.

The dream goddess/alien/whatever paused before replying, "The Culture is basically a liberal, utopian, post-scarcity, anarchist society composed of numerous humanoid and non-humanoid species, as well as a benevolent population of sentient artificial intelligences; essentially machines." Lelouch hadn't understood half of the rather large words she had used, despite his impressive vocabulary for a ten year old. "We have _extremely_ advanced technology in comparison with the world you come from, and we can do pretty much whatever we want here. There are no rules, and everyone lives like a king. It's a paradise."

So the Culture was a paradise. Not very far off from where he first thought he was. Normally, he would be suspicious; there had to be some catch to this "utopia". But this was a dream, so it hardly mattered. He would just play along until he woke up.

"Hey, you know what. Instead of just _telling _you this, I should really be _showing_ you. Why don't you come along with me and I'll show you what utopia is like. Oh and by the way, my name is Rasd-Corduresa Diziet Embless Sma da' Marenhide. Diziet or Sma for short," stated this so called "Diziet Sma", while holding out her hand for Lelouch to take.

Despite knowing that this was all a dream, Lelouch was still quite curious on what utopia would be like. Or at least what his subconscious mind would imagine it to be.

Reluctantly, the former prince took the hand.

* * *

><p>It was unbelievably <em>mind boggling <em>just how enormous this…place was. For kilometers in every direction, there was nothing but grassland and what seemed to be little residential units strewn about every which way. Almost like a cross between suburbia and rural communities back on Earth. In the distance, he could see a futuristic metropolis of alien architecture and towering skyscrapers.

Looking behind him, Lelouch took back calling the residential units "little". The one that he, Nunnally, and Diziet had just exited from was three stories tall, had four bedrooms, several dining rooms, living rooms, entertainment centers, and even an _indoor_ _pool_. The entire unit was pristine white, with sleek, organic curves and a futuristic, albeit ascetic, design

If all the units were like this, than there had to be hundreds, maybe even thousands in living in this area alone. He wondered how many people were living in that city…

Looking around in a daze, Lelouch also took back calling the surrounding area "grassland". It was more like park land or the golf courses back home, except without the golf. Nunnally looked just as amazed and in awe as he was, judging by how hyperactive she was being. He hadn't seen her this…enthusiastic since before their mother's death. Her excitement was absolutely contagious, and he couldn't help but feel giddy, even if this was all a dream.

"Welcome aboard the System class General System Vehicle _Go Hang a Salami, I'm a Lasagna Hog_," stated Diziet, "Including fields, its about 200 kilometers long; the largest ship class in the Culture."

"This is a _spaceship_? B-but it looks just like a planet," inquired the bewildered Lelouch.

"It's design to look that way; for people who prefer the illusion of living on a planet. I figured that since you two grew up on a planet, this would be the best section of the ship to introduce you to."

"All of this is so amazing!" exclaimed Nunnally in awe, "But what about the sky? It looks so real."

Lelouch looked up and saw a perfectly blue sky, with perfectly white clouds, and a perfectly yellow sphere of warmth and light called the sun. It was perfect. Too perfect.

"The sky is just a holographic projection used to give a sense of being on a planet. Even a realistic horizon is simulated," answered Diziet.

"So it's just an illusion," stated Lelouch. Just an illusion, like how everything else in this oh-so-perfect dream was an illusion.

"You could say that."

The trio continued to walk down smooth marble path leading directly to the city. They passed more residential units on the way; some were larger than theirs, some were smaller, but they all had a similar design. As they got closer to the alien city, he noticed something even more mind boggling near the horizon.

It could only be described as a humongous mountain comparable to Mt. Everest itself. And it was floating right in mid air.

"What is _that_?" asked Lelouch for the umpteenth time while pointing at the floating mountain.

Diziet half chuckled, half giggled at the exiled royal's innocent question before replying, "That…is a giant rock suspended by the ship's force fields. It was a decoration thought up by one of this ship's Minds. A lot of people like to climb it for fun."

The future SC agent would learn later on that floating mountains weren't even that impressive compared to some of the more unusual things in the Culture's arsenal of art decorations. Things like four-dimensional architecture.

"Oh Dizzy, there you are. I've been looking all over for you," yelled a new voice. The voice seemed to be projected from what looked like a…flying suitcase? It was rather small, as far as suitcases go, and had an oddly shaped handle with an unusual, gunmetal snout. The "suitcase" made its way towards the two royal siblings and their new caretaker.

"Is that…a talking suitcase?" asked Lelouch, fully aware of how stupid he probably sounded asking so many basic questions.

"This "talking suitcase" has a name, kid," responded the "suitcase". As if insulted, the suitcase suddenly shifted color, from being positively rosy to light grey.

"His name is Skaffen-Amtiskaw, Lelouch. He's the one who saved your life!" announced Nunnally enthusiastically. Lelouch gawked. If Nunnally was telling the truth, then the only reason he was still alive right now (or at least still alive in his dream) was because of this talking suitcase who calls himself Skatty-Liskoflaw or whatever.

Damn, thought Lelouch, now he's dreaming of a talking, flying suitcase that apparently saved his life. What the hell did he _eat _before going to bed?

"No need to thank me, kid. Removing deadly shrapnel from you're body was child's play with my fields," said the "suitcase", "Oh, and I am not a "talking suitcase". I am what we call a drone. On your world, they would call me a robot. But just remember, I am considered as much of a sentient being as you are."

"So, you're a machine?"

"Yes, I am a machine. A highly volatile and psychopathic one at that," replied the Offensive drone sarcastically.

"Skaffy, stop making dark, self-deprecating humor, you're gonna scare the kids away," said Diziet, "Anyways, you two are free to go around and do whatever. Have fun and party, or just relax or something. You two deserve it, after escaping that hellhole back on your homeworld. Just come back when you want to."

The dark-haired goddess turned to leave them, and began walking away casually, her drone partner in pursuit. Not knowing what to do, Lelouch called for her, "W-wait, where are you going. Are you just going to leave us here? We don't know what to do."

Diziet replied without even stopping or turning to face them, "Just do whatever you want. This is paradise remember. Oh, I almost forgot, you guys haven't gotten genofixed yet. Most of the technology on this ship is accessed by neural lace interface, but in your case, just call for one of the ship's Minds and they'll help you."

Then suddenly with a flash of light, Diziet Sma and Skaffen-Amtiskaw were gone; displacement, although Lelouch didn't know the exact term at the time.

"That's it? They just left us here. A ten-year old boy and a seven-year old girl on some gigantic ship we have never been on before, and they just left us here," said Lelouch in frustration, "These people are insane!"

Nunnally pouted slightly before saying, "These people aren't crazy, Lelouch. They're really nice. They did save you're life after all. And this place sounds great!"

She did have a point, thought Lelouch. He should be a little more appreciative about the situation. Anything was better than being trapped in a battlefield after all. But then again, if he had died, he would have probably just woken up.

"I know, Nunnally, I'm sorry. I know they saved my life and I'm grateful. It's just that all of this is so much to take in," said Lelouch, "And now I have no idea what to do. This place is so…unfamiliar. And I can't help being suspicious about this so called "utopia". "

"Well," said Nunnally, "that nice Diziet women said to call for the ship's Mind if we needed any help."

"That's preposterous, we don't even know what a "Mind" is," countered Lelouch, "And we're in the middle of nowhere, how are we suppose to contact whatever this "Mind" is."

Nunnally thought for a moment while sitting on the ground, her hand stroking her chin. It was a position that Lelouch wasn't even aware she was capable of, let alone expected. This was surreal.

"I know! Why don't we just call for the Mind? Like this," said Nunnally, "Hello Mind, are you there? We need you're help right now!" She was yelling this at the top of her lungs; if he didn't believe he was dreaming Lelouch would have considered this ridiculously.

"**Hello, how may I be of service**," said a booming voice. It startled Lelouch and seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once.

"W-whose there, s-show yourself," replied Lelouch with suspicion.

"**Why, I'm just one of the Minds of this vessel, the GSV **_**Go Hang a Salami, I'm a Lasagna Hog**_," stated the Mind matter-of-factly.

"Wait, you're the ship's Mind. W-what are you?" asked Nunnally nervously, the energy she was exuberating earlier now gone.

"**Oh I see; you two are newcomers here! Well, if it answers your question, I am a Culture Mind. A Mind is a sentient artificial intelligence, like a drone, but vastly more complex, intelligent, and powerful. We are responsible for maintaining the entire Culture by running ships, orbitals, and other habitats, as well as caring for its citizens**."

"So, you're essentially a super intelligent butler, am I correct?" asked Lelouch bluntly.

There was a pause before the Mind continued, "**A butler, hardly. No sentient being in the Culture is ever required under any circumstances to do any work they wish not to do. We Minds simply enjoy running the Culture. If we didn't, then this ship would be automated by a non-sentient computer; every bit as capable as a Mind, just not very good at making conversation. Anyways, how may I help you**?"

"Well, umm, we're kind of new here. And we have no idea what to do," said Lelouch, "So we're basically lost."

"**Ah, that's an easy one**," stated the Culture Mind, "**Why don't I show you a map**."

In an instant a three-dimensional, holographic image appeared in front of their very eyes. The image was of the ship itself; a giant rectangular slab of golden metal surrounded by an ovular, transparent field of white. Attached to the main slab via golden pylons were smaller slabs, as well two gunmetal cylinders parallel to the main slab on both sides. Hmm, engines perhaps, thought Lelouch. On top of the main slab there were parkways and gardens and valleys and other such environments. There was even a small forest thrown in there somewhere.

But the oddest part was the fact that all the slabs were floating on top of a giant pool of water contained within the outer field. It was like the GSV had its very own sea. It was magnificent; there were even more small slabs floating on the sea and under the sea. If this whole ship was 200 kilometers long, there must be millions, maybe even billions living on it.

The holographic image began to zoom in on a point on top of the main slab. The point was surrounded by grassland and was near a city with towering skyscrapers. This must be where Lelouch and Nunnally were currently located. Numerous other points began appearing all over the image, mostly concentrated in the nearby metropolis; each of these new points had different symbols on them.

"**As you can see, this red point is where you are. The nearby city of Didac, which you should be able to see from your location, contains plenty of accommodations and amenities for biologicals to partake in**," explained the Mind, "**There's music, concerts, sports, parties, an excellent beach, and of course, plenty of food**."

All of sudden, Lelouch heard a faint growl coming from Nunnally's stomach. "Umm, I guess food would be nice. Are there any good restaurants in the city?" inquired the former prince. Truth be told, he was rather famished himself, and could definitely use a decent meal. Hmm, thought Lelouch, I wonder what they eat in "utopia".

"**Well if you're hungry, you could just request whatever food you want and I'll just displace it in, maybe even with a little table for you to eat on**," answered the Mind, "**But if you want to eat at an actual restaurant, I could provide you a list of all the dining establishments on my ship**."

A holographic list appeared, containing an impressive repertoire of restaurants, each one with a description and link to their menus. Lelouch narrowed down the list to restaurants in Didac, skimming through the descriptions and clicking on the links for any ones that caught his or Nunnally's interest. Several minutes later, Lelouch finally selected a restaurant that both he and his sister liked.

"**Ah, an excellent choice, this establishment is quite popular amongst Didac's population**."

"So, how exactly are we going to get to Didac," asked Lelouch, "I can see where the city is, but it doesn't look close. You don't expect us to walk there, do you?"

"**Of course not, nobody walks in the Culture unless they feel like it. For in-ship transportation, we have something called displacers**."

"Displacers, what are those," asked Nunnally.

"**A displacer is essentially a wormhole-based teleportation device. Displacers are used to transport goods, people, and weapons over short distances. My displacers have a range of over 100 light years**," answered the Mind.

100 _light years_! That's insane; and these people consider that a short distance. I wonder what they consider long-range, thought Lelouch.

"So these displacers are instantaneous, right? Are they safe?" asked the raven-haired boy.

"**A few centuries ago, displacers had a 1 in 61 million failure rate, making them too dangerous to regularly transport large amounts of people**," explained the Mind, "**But nowadays, displacers have an extremely miniscule failure rate that isn't even worth mentioning, even for the most paranoid Minds. Of course, those who are still uncomfortable with displacement can be transported via different methods; such as travel tubes or hover cars**."

Lelouch thought about it for a few seconds before replying, "Well, if they're that safe, than I guess we can use them. We're both starving now, so the quicker we get some food, the better."

"**Very well, then**."

A blinding flash of light, accompanied by a brief period of darkness and a second flash was all that alerted Lelouch and Nunnally that they had just been displaced several kilometers. Both siblings were heavily disoriented by the sudden displacement.

"**Sorry about the dizziness, you'll get used to it after a while**," said the Mind apologetically.

Lelouch looked around. The restaurant they were planning on eating at was located at a pier with an excellent view of the artificial sea. They were surrounded by boardwalks bordered by perfectly manicured lawns of grass, with beautiful fountains spraying at each curve or corner, and alien buildings looming over them. Holographic signs floated in the air, with alien characters that the ship Mind happily translated for them.

There were people everywhere; walking around, talking to each other, some of them were even having what looked like outdoor parties or fiestas. There were plenty of kids too; running around and playing games with toys he had never seen before. Looking up, Lelouch noticed that there were many people suspended in mid-air as well; having conversations with each other as if they weren't floating hundreds of meters above ground.

What Lelouch thought was unusual though was that all the people seemed to look so happy. They were very open and friendly too; everyone said hello to each other and people did things that would be considered indecent in public back on Earth. At first, Lelouch wondered if everyone here was brainwashed with perpetual happiness, but then he noticed a few frowny faces here and there and his fears were laid to rest.

Nunnally was like a kid in a candy shop, "Wow, brother, this place is so amazing. There are so many things to do. We could go there, and there, and there, ooh and that looks fun too. This is so _great_." Nunnally's excitement and enthusiasm practically shot through the roof.

"Come on Nunnally, we can check out all of that later." If I don't wake up by then, thought Lelouch, "Right now we should eat. We're both starving."

They walked into the restaurant; a bar, and were greeted by a young, pretty bartender girl.

* * *

><p>The meal was delicious, albeit completely unfamiliar, as most of the foods served he had never seen before. But it was definitely the best meal he had ever had in his short life. The bartender was also rather pleasant; she began explaining a lot of key facts about the Culture as soon as she knew that they were newcomers. Lelouch was shocked when she offered them alcohol, but the bartender explained that it was okay for minors to drink in the Culture because their alcohol didn't have detrimental side effects like those on Earth.<p>

Nunnally asked him if she could go wander off on her own. He refused at first but reluctantly allowed her to go when the pretty bartender convinced him that it was impossible for Nunnally to get harmed or lost while onboard any Culture vessel.

Now he was alone with the bartender, whose abbreviated name was Seyla apparently.

"So, I thought people in the Culture didn't have to work," said Lelouch.

Seyla giggled slightly before replying, "Well of course we don't have to work silly; at least not for a living. That's what post-scarcity is for."

"So then why are you a bartender?"

"Why? 'Cuz its fun of course! And I get to meet a lot of new and interesting people, like you for instance. You see, in the Culture, where people can basically do whatever they want and live as long as they want, sometimes people get bored of the parties and the sex and the games. So occasionally people do other things; like writing literature and poetry, becoming professional athletes, or exploring the universe. And when they're satisfied with that, then they go straight back to the hedonism."

"But what if you get ambitious? What if you want to accomplish something incredible; like becoming the ruler of a nation, or a great general?"

"Well, if you want to accomplish something great, then just join Contact, or Special Circumstances if you're good."

"Contact, what is that? And what is Special Circumstances?" asked Lelouch curiously.

Seyla rubbed her chin in thought for a second before replying, "Well, Contact is basically the Culture's Good Works program. You see, the Culture as a society defines itself on its ability to help other, less fortunate civilizations. "

"So you're saying that the Culture meddles with primitive civilization in order to help them?"

"Well I guess you could describe it as meddling, but what the Culture really does is give less advanced civilizations a little push now and then, to get them on the right track to being a better society. You could also say that Contact is the Culture's diplomatic and ambassadorial section, as well as its military in war time," explained the bartender.

"So the Culture has a military and weapons in case of war. But if the Culture's a utopia, why would there be war."

"My, you're a curious kid, aren't you?" said Seyla half-jokingly, "Just because the Culture itself is a utopia, doesn't mean there aren't any external threats. There are numerous Involved civilizations out there in the galaxy, many of which have equal or even superior technology. And not all of them are as nice as us."

"I guess you're right; the Culture wouldn't want to be completely defenseless," said Lelouch, "But you didn't answer my second question. What is Special Circumstances?"

Seyla paused in thought again, racking her genofixed brain for an adequate explanation she could give to the curious ten-year old, "Well, I'm probably not the best person to ask about SC; the best way I could describe them is that they're a highly secretive subsection of Contact that deals with espionage, intelligence, and clandestine operations. Like I said, the average Culture citizen doesn't know much about them. They do the Culture's dirty work and deal with people and places and things that don't follow the normal laws of morality; basically a moral event horizon where the concepts of right and wrong break down completely."

* * *

><p>Satisfied with Seyla's explanation, at least temporarily, the raven-haired youth said goodbye to his new bartender friend before leaving. He decided to put his suspicions to rest and wander off into the immense labyrinth of the city called Didac.<p>

Lost in a fantastical dream, the former prince meandered about doing as his heart (or stomach) desired. When he was hungry he ate like a king; the food supply was endless. When he was bored he went skydiving with no parachute, or played three-dimensional holographic board games, or went swimming in the most beautiful beach he had ever been seen. He played soldier with a bunch of kids with fancy ray guns. He drove a supersonic hover car by himself, although he would have crashed if one of the Minds didn't intervene. His first encounter with a holographic virtual reality cinema was both breath taking and mind boggling.

When he was lonely he went to parties, even though he was a total wallflower. He made friends with people, opening himself up in ways not possible for him on Earth. The sheer kindness and friendliness of these extremely social, well-balanced people was like a contagious disease for Lelouch. He told them his story; the story of an exiled prince who had gone through his own personal hell before being spirited away to heaven. And they told him their stories in return.

"The way I see it is that there's nothing wrong with being lazy or hedonistic when it doesn't really bring harm to yourself or anyone else?" said the middle-aged woman.

"Yeah, but if you don't do anything all day but eat and play games, then what's the point of living," argued Lelouch.

"Having a point to living is pretty much subjective; every single person has a different standard for what they consider a good life. That's why I love the Culture; you get to choose what makes you the happiest and the freedom to implement that into your life, as long as it doesn't involve mass murder or enslavement of course."

"So it's whatever "floats your boat" in the Culture I guess," said Lelouch.

"Huh," said the woman.

"An expression on my home world," explained Lelouch, "Basically, it means that everyone has different things that they like."

"That's exactly what I mean! Like, you could become a total hedonist and just party and have sex all day, everyday until eternity has passed, or you could live alone in a shack with no tech on some backwater orbital somewhere in the Culture. Like you said, "whatever floats your boat"."

"Neither of those options appeal to me," replied the former prince.

"Well, they're just examples of the extreme. You could find a balance and do marvelous things with you're life. You come from a capitalist society, don't you?" Lelouch nodded yes. "Well, imagine having a truly inexhaustible supply of money and biological immortality. Just try to wrap your head around what you could do with those kinds of advantages. Than multiply that by a million and you get the typical Culturnik."

Lelouch's head was already swimming with possibilities, "You could make art, write stories, compose incredible music, and master every game in existence. Just because you have the potential for unlimited decadence, doesn't mean you have to indulge in it constantly."

"Some people would say that none of those accomplishments would mean anything because there was no struggle or effort involved," countered Lelouch.

"Then to hell with those people! Why must you struggle for something to make it worth your while? Can't people see the value of something for what it is, and not what it cost you? If they're that dissatisfied with the Culture than they can just leave, which is as easy as asking a Mind to drop them off at the nearest primitive shithole where they can live like cavemen and partake in the glorious struggle for survival. At least that's what I think, but hey, whatever floats your boat."

"So what about you; how are you enjoying you're stay here on the _Lasagna Hog_?"

* * *

><p>Lelouch didn't limit himself to Didac, of course. The General System Vehicle was enormous, like its own little world, and it would take many lifetimes to explore it all. But he would sure as hell try. No longer did Lelouch care that he could be in a dream; if he was then this was probably the most exciting and realistic dream that he had ever had. In fact, he had become so enamored with utopia that his precious little sister Nunnally had become nothing but a waning concern in the back of his mind.<p>

One of the most unusual people he had encountered on the GSV was a group that dedicated themselves to live, non-virtual combat games using futuristic power armor. The thrill, the danger, the exhilaration; all of it was completely real. Each member was fatally risking their lives just for fun and amusement. Sometimes, Lelouch doubted that he would ever truly understand these people.

"Do you guys need to practice or train a lot for these combat games?" asked Lelouch, addressing one of the members wearing an army green combat suit.

"Well of course," he replied, "These aren't your average kiddy soldier games. What we do is much more serious, with actual Culture weaponry and real danger involved. So yes, we have to train a hell of a lot."

To emphasize his point, one of the "soldiers" flying in the sky was just shot down by an immense plasma bolt.

"But from what I've heard of them, a single offensive drone could slaughter all of you by itself," stated Lelouch.

"Well, you exaggerate. With a modern combat suit we could take on the average combat drone with two or three to one numerical superiority in our favor," replied the "soldier", "But basically yes, a drone would easily beat anyone of us, especially one of the top of the line models."

"Then why bother with these games when a machine is so much better than you?" asked Lelouch. His question had been serious, but the man just started laughing as if he had told him a funny joke.

"You have no idea how many times I've heard that from newcomers," said the "soldier" man, "Just think of it this way; what's the point in doing anything if you know that there's going to be _someone_ out there who is and always will be better than you, even in a world without sentient machines."

"But in a world without machines, there is at least a chance that _you_ could be the best at something. A very slim chance, but it's better than no chance at all," replied Lelouch.

The man laughed again, and Lelouch wondered if he had heard the very same argument before. "You may have a point there, kid. But I'm not the kind of person who does something to be the very best at it. I do things 'cuz I enjoy them and because they give my life meaning. It's not really about being the best, although you can certainly try. It's about what makes you happy."

"What if being the best makes you happy," countered Lelouch.

"Well, if you're so set on being the best at something and the superiority of drones in the dealing of death and destruction is so frustrating, then just become a drone yourself."

"You can do that?"

"Of course, you can even change species in the Culture. Becoming a drone is as simple as a matter of mind state transfer. You can even become a Mind if you wanted too! Although it involves becoming part of a group consciousness and not many people go for it, but the possibility is still there."

In the background Lelouch spotted several "soldiers" bombarding an enemy position with antimatter micro missiles, resulting in numerous mushroom cloud explosions.

"What about you?" Lelouch asked the "soldier" he was talking with, "Would you want to become a drone."

"Me? Nah, I'd rather keep my fleshy, meatbag body. I have no desire to be the best at combat. I feel that it's rather lonely at the top anyways," answered the green-clad "soldier", "There's no one you can really admire except yourself. I like being a little lower on the totem pole, where I can admire the strength and skill of those who are better than me, but at the same time I can still take pride in myself."

"Well, it's been nice chatting with you kid, but I have a game to attend. I'll see you around. Oh and by the way, my names really long and complicated, but friends call me the Chief."

* * *

><p>"Why don't we try a simple thought experiment," said the drone, "Imagine for a moment, a drone who looks like a human, talks like a human, thinks like a human, acts like a human, and does everything exactly like a human. Shouldn't that drone then be treated like a human? I mean, what's the difference between the two, besides the fact that one is made of metal, and the other is made of flesh."<p>

Lelouch was currently discussing the nature of artificial intelligences with a drone named Prio Orzi. Although it was less of a discussion, and more of Orzi explaining various concepts to Lelouch in order to get the boy to wrap his head around the fact that, yes, drones are considered people too.

"Well, there is one major difference," replied Lelouch, "One was born, while the other was constructed."

The drone paused for a moment, its fields now the color of pensive thinking, before continuing, "But is it really okay to discriminate against someone because of their origin. You told me that in your home country of Britannia, the entire society was based on discrimination and prejudices. Prejudice against foreigners, against commoners, against the "weak". Do you agree with that line of thinking?"

"No, I most certainly do not," answered Lelouch vehemently, "I actually find it rather repulsive. That's what my father believed in, and I _hated_ my father."

"There you see. There isn't anymore reason to discriminate against a drone for being built instead of conceived than there is to discriminate against someone for being born a commoner, or in another country, or with a disability."

"But isn't this whole thought experiment a moot point," said Lelouch, "Where would you find a drone that looks and acts exactly like a human?"

"You'd be surprised actually," responded Orzi, "Hey Iain! Come over here, I want you to show Lelouch here something."

The drone was addressing a bearded, middle aged-man with glasses in the background, to whom Lelouch had a prior discussion with about a series of books he wanted to write. Hearing his name called, Iain casually approached the two before asking Orzi what he wanted him for.

"Show him," requested the drone.

Suddenly, Iain's form flickered out of existence, revealing a small, tennis ball shaped object floating in mid-air. It was surrounded by an aura of light green friendliness.

"You're a drone!" exclaimed the former prince in puzzlement and awe.

"Yes, I'm a drone. An SC combat model at that," replied Iain, "Elbanko-em Iain-Baxta Plebason Dar Qensferi, at your service. I take on human soligram form whenever Orzi and I need to convince any newcomers."

Lelouch never questioned the sapience of artificial intelligences ever again.

* * *

><p>Lelouch wasn't quite sure whether it had been a day or a millennium, but eventually he returned to the <em>little<em> residential unit he had first woken up in. With everything going on, the former prince had just completely lost track of time. He wondered if Nunnally had enjoyed paradise as much as he had. Maybe Nunnally was changed by this whole experience; he definitely knew he was.

Upon walking in through the automatic sliding doors, Lelouch was _attacked_ by the ball of joyous energy named Nunnally vi Britannia. If he thought she was being overly enthusiastic before they split up, now she was even more hyperactive.

"Welcome _home_,brother! Did you have fun? See, I told you this place is great! They have everything here, and the people are just so nice, and fun-loving, and _awesome_! I love it here!" exclaimed the exiled princess, before letting loose a rapid fire barrage of excited monologue that was no longer coherent.

Standing behind his bundle of energy for a sister was the goddess he now knows as Diziet Sma. Now that he experienced first hand how dreamily incredible the Culture is, the insanely attractive women who was responsible for bringing him here seemed a thousand fold more beautiful, if that was even possible.

The raven-haired youth continued to stare at Diziet in awe and admiration for a long moment, ignoring Nunnally's incoherent babbling before another voice chimed in, "You know, if you keep staring at Dizzy with that highly aroused look on your face, I'm going to have to castrate you with a knife missile."

It was Skaffen-Amtiskaw, Sma's suitcase-shaped Offensive drone companion. Lelouch blushed and looked away from Diziet in abashment, while the female SC agent just giggled at Lelouch's embarrassment.

"Sorry, Lelouch, I'm not really interested in minors. Maybe someday." Lelouch's face became even redder at Diziet's suggestive comment. He hadn't even asked; had he really been staring that much.

"Anyways, did you enjoy you're stay here, Lelouch?" asked the goddess.

"Well, it was certainly impressive," stated Lelouch nonchalantly, "Okay, I admit it; it was incredible, wonderful, fantastic, magnificent, terrific, heavenly, pretty much any positive adjective you can think of. It was just plain amazing."

Diziet smiled warmly before replying, "Well then, I'm glad you had a good time. I assure you though; when you get older it will get even better."

"Better? How can it possibly get any better?" asked Lelouch curiously.

"Trust me, it will. Have you gone through puberty yet? Or the birds and the bees talk, as they call it on Earth."

"Puberty, birds and the bees, what are those?" this time it was Nunnally who asked the question.

"Never mind, it's not my place to give you this particular conversation just yet," said Diziet with a little giggle and a sly grin. Something about it told Lelouch that he didn't like this particular type of giggling or grinning.

"So, can we really stay here as long as we want?" asked Lelouch. He hoped she said yes; he never wanted to leave. But then he remembered with a frown that he was probably still dreaming and could wake up any minute. Or was he?

"Of course, stay as long as you like, and you can even leave whenever!" exclaimed Diziet.

"Leave? Why would anyone ever want to leave this place?" asked Lelouch.

"People find reasons. The Culture can't be everything to everyone. Some of those who leave form their own Culture offshoots called the Ulterior, while others migrate to other civilizations," explained Skaffen-Amtiskaw.

"They sound crazy to me," replied Lelouch, "Who would want to leave a utopia."

There was a pregnant pause as his question remained unanswered before Sma changed the subject, "Well, enough of this talk. We need to discuss some things. First off, I need to get your permission to have you genofixed."

"Genofix?" inquired Lelouch, barely able to pronounce the word.

Diziet and her drone partner went on to explain various concepts and ideas such as DNA, genetic engineering, drug glanding (which they assured involved drugs that were not harmful or addictive), neural lace interfaces, terminal implants, and other, more exotic biological augmentations. Nunnally looked confused by it all, but Lelouch's exceptionally clever brain was able to understand the gist of it; genofixing was essentially engineering the genetic makeup of an organic life form in order to drastically improve their lifestyle and attributes. It was how Culturniks could live forever if they wanted to, along with a lot of other perks.

Although Lelouch had to wonder why anyone would want an antimatter reactor in their brain or lasers in their fingernails, but hey, "whatever floats your boat".

"Anyways, that's basically genofixing in a nutshell," said Diziet, "The vast majority of Culture citizens go through it, but I still need your consent."

"Is it painful," inquired Lelouch.

"Painful? Of course not, it's perfectly harmless," answered Skaffen-Amtiskaw.

Lelouch looked to his younger sister, who had since calmed down from her previous state of hyperactivity, and asked, "What about you Nunnally? What do you think about being genofixed?"

"Well, I don't really understand what genofixing is; I'm not as smart as you, big brother," replied Nunnally, "But they said it was harmless and good for you. So I'll do it if you do it."

"Well, it's settled then. Nunnally and I consent to genofixing," declared Lelouch. He had become so trusting during his stay on the _Lasagna Hog_; he would have never consented to genofixing when he had first woken up. But a taste of utopia can change anyone.

"That's fantastic," remarked Diziet, "But right now, I'm sure you two must be _very _tired. I think it would be best if you went to bed. Then we can have you genofixed tomorrow as soon as possible."

Lelouch was about to protest, but then he thought about it and realized that, yes, he _was_ very tired. Nunnally looked like her energy had run out as well. He wondered if either of them had stopped to rest and sleep while they were wandering around the GSV, but he doubted it. They were having too much fun.

"I think you're right, Miss Sma," said Lelouch with a yawn, "I'm just about ready to knock out."

"Me too," said Nunnally.

"Well we have plenty of vacant bedrooms in this unit, so feel free to choose any of them to sleep in," stated Diziet, "You can each have your room or you can sleep together if you want. Skaffy, would you be a dear and show them upstairs."

"Yes, your Majesty," said the drone sarcastically before escorting the two vi Britannia siblings.

After a while, the offensive drone returned from upstairs, leaving the SC agent and her partner alone together.

"Both of the children are sleeping soundly now," stated Skaffen-Amtiskaw, "But I think Lelouch would have preferred it if you tucked him in and gave him a good night kiss."

Sma snickered softly at the drone's comment, "I find it kind of cute how the boy has a crush on me already. I definitely haven't lost my touch, even after a millennium."

"So," said the suitcase shaped drone, "Do you think it was a good idea bringing them here?"

"Yes," replied Sma, "Don't you?"

"I'm just worried that it might have repercussions on their homeworld. They were royalty, after all; exiled royalty, but still royalty."

"They were royalty that had been exiled to a country that was just invaded," replied Diziet, "Their disappearance will probably be explained as being killed during the invasion. And don't you remember the reason why the GCU _Arbitrary_ approved of us bringing Lelouch and Nunnally along. That whole thing about how Nunnally had been effectorized with blindness."

"It's not exactly effectorization," replied Skaffen-Amtiskaw, referring to the Culture's extremely versatile electronic warfare and subversion weapon, "It's just very similar."

"Yes, very similar, but at the same time different enough for the Minds to take active interest in the two siblings. I'm glad of it though. I'm glad we could give those two a taste of utopia. We all know that they deserve it, after what they had gone through."

* * *

><p>Lelouch hadn't really gone to sleep that night, although he was tired. But he wanted to try the virtual reality tech so badly, he couldn't help himself. He was sure Diziet wouldn't mind.<p>

And it was worth it; the VR simulation was just so _real_. He could get lost in it, like an endless dream. That night, he became a dashing Special Circumstance operative. He had the entire package; a high tech combat suit, a badass drone partner, lasers in his fingernails, an AM reactor in his brain, genetically engineered strength and speed, even a plasma pistol hidden in his teeth. His first mission was back on his homeworld of Earth. The primary objective: destroy Britannia.

He descended from the heavens wearing his combat armor like a black knight, and rained down righteous fury and wrath upon the Britannian military. Armies were decimated by a raging storm of knife missiles, fleets of ships annihilated by plasma and CREWS, aircraft shot out of the sky by AM-tipped nanomissiles. With every one-sided slaughter, Lelouch single handedly destroyed the image of Darwinist superiority that was the source of all of Britannia's evils.

But he wasn't just a harbringer of destruction; he was a savior. He brought salvation to all the people subjugated by his father's empire. He liberated the nations dominated by his father's war machine. He freed Japan. And it all ended with him pulling the trigger on his father himself.

Lelouch was ashamed to say that part of his fantasy involved a, shall we say, _steamy_, encounter between him and one Diziet Sma. But who could blame him.

After the VR simulation was done, Lelouch just laid there in his tensor field bed, and contemplated everything. He was sure of it now. This was no dream.

This was utopia.

TBC

A.N. There you go, chapter 3, Lelouch and Nunnally are taken in by the Culture. I hope the Culture didn't sound like a Mary Suetopia, it's really not one, and I plan to deconstruct that portrayal of it in future chapters. And don't worry, it will only be about two or three chapters left before Lelouch and the gang finally return to Earth. Read and review, people.


	5. Chapter 4: Ulterior Motives

Author's Note: This chapter was longer than I thought it would be, and I had to remove a couple of scenes to make it fit, but I hope you all enjoy! We're getting closer and closer to when the gang finally reaches Earth, and the real fun can begin.

Disclaimer: Code Geass is owned by Sunrise and the Culture series by Iain M. Banks. I am not making any profit on this fanfic whatsoever.

Chapter 4: Ulterior Motives

_Eldar Ruins, UCP-3422, Seythlcoan Space, 2016 a.t.b._

UCP-3422 was an utterly insignificant, uncontacted planet not even worthy of a proper designation, although the inhabitants, a race of short, red-skinned humanoids called the Skrillz, had their own name for it, which would sound somewhat like the vulgar English term for female genitalia. The Skrillz themselves were rather primitive by Culture standards; thermonuclear fusion reactors and orbital death satellites are considerably advance technologies on UCP-3422.

It was on this planet that Novax-Ethelon and his drone companion Antik-Ultur found themselves on a high-risk SC mission. Their objective was to investigate rumors of an Eldar artifact located on the planet; similar to the seven recently discovered Eldar ruins which were responsible for placing the galaxy in such a heightened sense of tension and unease.

Normally, a mission to such a primitive world would be considered a cakewalk for the average SC agent. The only problem is that UCP-3422 was located deep within Seythlcoan-controlled space.

"We have snipers inbound," whispered the cylindrical combat drone, "Approximately 2.4 kilometers away. They're just about to fire."

They were caught. It wasn't very surprising though; when everyone on the planet is less than three feet tall and has dark red skin, you tend to stand out a lot. Add on the fact that they weren't trying particularly hard to be stealthy, at least not towards the local population. The Seythlcoa on the other hand…

Novax nodded discreetly towards his drone partner before glanding Focus and Quicken into his system. His eyes scanning everywhere, the SC agent was on high alert, waiting for the nearest sign of sniper fire. He particularly took notice of a set of hills in the distance that was perfect for sniping.

Noticing a brief flash in his peripheral vision only detectable with his drug-enhanced reaction time, Novax casually tilted his head to the side, causing the bullet, an armor-piercing round fired from an electromagnetic railgun at nearly 2.4 km/s, to narrowly miss his head by an inch. It wasn't necessary for him to dodge; his GelField suit could have protected him from a nuke, let alone a sniper bullet. But the Skrillz had no reason to know what he was and was not capable of surviving. Plus, it was a lot more fun to dodge.

Another sniper stupidly attempted to shoot Antik-Ultur, but the drone didn't even bother with evasion. Instead, he opted for catching the .50 caliber round in mid-air with his fields, cutting it in half, and throwing both pieces back with twice as much force, splattering the helmet-covered heads of both marksmen. All before they could even so much as blink.

"Hey buddy, if you always plan on dodging, then why the hell did you bring me along," said the gelsuit's AI.

"Don't worry, suit. You're my lifeline just in case the Skrillz decide to bring their heavier weapons of mass destruction on us," replied Novax before adding, "Or if the Seythlcoa find us."

"Good, because there's absolutely nothing on this planet that can harm you while you're wearing me," declared the suit proudly, "With the possible exception of the Skrillz' orbital death laser, if our data on that thing is correct. But I'm pretty sure that Antik-Ultur over there could block that with his fields."

"Don't forget that the Skrillz only kill sat is currently orbiting on the other side of the planet," said Antik, "So we don't even have to worry about that."

The SC agent nodded before using his suit's effector to search the surrounding valley for any more life signs. He found three sets; a large platoon of soldiers, most likely Special Forces, heading in their direction, an attack helicopter, and one solitary life sign near their designated rendezvous point. It was their local tour guide.

At his request, Antik-Ultur launched a single knife missile, which went off and decimated the platoon in less than three seconds. Rather slow for the drone, but Antik was just playing around. As for the attack helicopter; Novax-Ethelon shot that down with the light plasma pistol in his left hand. Unfortunately, the chopper was able to launch a guided air-to-ground missile before its fiery death.

Rather than wasting time dodging, Novax simply allowed the ATGM to impact directly. His gelsuit easily withstood the blast of the chemical fragmentation warhead. With no enemies in range, the duo, or trio if you include the gelsuit, went off to meet with their guide.

It was only several more minutes before they arrived at the rendezvous point, where an unusually tall (as in four feet tall instead of less than three) Skrillz was waiting for them. The Skrillz had a bird-like symbol etched on his neck, with a slender figure and elf-like ears.

"Hello there, J.J." greeted Novax, "I take it that you didn't run into any danger on the way here."

"Not at all, Mr. Ethelon," replied the Skrillz, his native tongue instantaneously translated into Marain by Novax's neural lace, "I cannot say the same for you though."

"Yeah, we ran into some trouble. But nothing we couldn't handle, right Antik."

"Indeed," responded the drone in a deadpan tone.

"Hey, don't forget about me," added the gelsuit AI.

"Oh yeah, and Mr. Gelsuit too."

"Your suit can talk?" asked the guide incredulously.

"Yes, I can talk."

"Fascinating."

Antik looked around, observing the surroundings. Before them was a small cave entrance, ominous and menacing to behold. It just screamed "Eldar ruins located here." After their brief conversation, the Skrillz guide led them into the cave's dark maw. After half an hour of navigating through dimly lighted caverns in a labyrinthine complex under the mountain, the small group found themselves at a dead end. Or rather; in sight of exactly what they were looking for.

It was a massive gate of monolithic stone, with numerous arcane symbols etched all over its smooth, grey surface, the most prominent of which was a crimson bird-like sigil at the center. It looked suspiciously like the symbol on J.J.'s neck. Antik attempted to scan the Eldar ruin with his effector, but all of the readings it showed were rather…nonsensical.

The structure in front of them should not exist according to the drone's scanners, yet it was right in front of them.

"This," began the Skrillz, "is what we call a thought elevator. It is the so-called Eldar ruin which you have been searching for, Mr. Ethelon."

"Have you analyzed this thing yet, Antik?" asked Novax.

"Yes, but the readings I'm getting are very unusual," answered the cylindrical drone.

"How so?"

"It seems to me that this Eldar ruin is some sort of multi-dimensional structure. It's very complex."

"Multi-dimensional, you mean like the Shellworlds of Sursamen?"

"No, a different kind of multi-dimensional; it's very difficult to explain. I think even a Mind would have a hard time understanding it," replied the drone, "I've never seen anything like it, except for maybe the seven ruins on Atalana XIII."

"Allow me to explain." said J.J. with his native accent, "When I said that the thought elevator was the Eldar ruin you have been searching for, I lied, partially. The thought elevator is actually a door that will lead you to the _real_ Eldar ruin. And I am the only one who can open it."

"What do you mean you're the only one who can open it?" inquired the SC agent, "Is there like a key or something? If necessary, I could just blast a hole in it." Novax raised his plasma pistol in preparation to shoot the Eldar ruin, but was stopped abruptly by the Skrillz.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. This is no ordinary door," stated the native guide, "It is essentially a gateway to another world; a different dimension if you will. Destroying it will do nothing. Only I can unlock its secrets."

"That's preposterous!" exclaimed Antik-Ultur, "A "gateway to another world", there's no such thing! The technology needed for something like that, it's impossible!"

"Calm down, Antik. We're dealing with an Eldar civilization here. Anything's possible," said Novax, "What I'm curious about is why our friend here is the only one who can open it."

The native of UCP-3422 gave a smug smirk before replying, "Because, my dear friends, I possess the Code."

"And what exactly is this "Code"," questioned Antik.

Pointing to the bird-shaped sigil on his neck, the Skrillz explained, "It is something far beyond my comprehension. I cannot explain what it is exactly, but I inherited it from my predecessor roughly 3000 years ago."

"3000 years!" exclaimed Novax, "But how can you have been alive that long ago. Your world doesn't possess anti-aging technology. I'm not necessarily an expert on Skrillz biology, but you look barely past adolescence."

"Looks can be deceiving, Mr. Ethelon. The Code grants genuine immortality, among other things. I am physically incapable of dying."

"That's ridiculous. Any one can be killed," said Novax's drone partner, "With a sufficient application of force that is."

"Would you like to test that statement," challenged J.J., "by shooting me with that impressive looking gun you have there?"

The drone's aura field flickered rainbow for an instant before settling back into a dark-grey color, "Are you insane? I have enough firepower to annihilate a small continent. You'll be vaporized. Remember, we still need you to unlock the ruin."

"I'm well aware of the consequences of you blasting me with you're oh-so powerful weaponry," replied the Skrillz, "I'm trying to prove to you that I am immortal."

Novax-Ethelon hesitated for a long moment, before aiming at the Code-bearer with his plasma pistol. "What the hell are you doing, Novax?" asked the drone, "Are you seriously going to believe what he's saying. If you kill him, _then_ what are we going to do?"

"Relax; I'm just testing a theory. He doesn't seem to be lying, and unless he's suicidal, which he's not, there's no reason to ask me to shoot him unless he really is telling the truth," replied Novax-Ethelon before firing his plasma pistol. There was a brief flash of intense light, and then J.J. was vaporized.

"So much for Mr. Immortal," said Antik-Ultur sarcastically, "Now what are we suppose to do."

The SC agent was about to respond, but was stopped when, right before their very eyes, the body of J.J. began to reform and regenerate until the Skrillz was as good as new. Novax's jaw dropped. Antik would have done the same if he had one.

"You see," said the Skrillz, "I am incapable of dying."

"Damn," said Novax in awe, "Someday I'm gonna ask a Mind to gridfire him. See if he survives that."

'If you two are done gawking, we have an ancient ruin to examine. However, I need one of you to stay here while the other accompanies me. Preferably with Mr. Ethelon on the outside and your floating friend here with me," explained the tour guide.

"What? That's completely out of the question," responded Antik-Ultur, "I need to be with Novax at all times."

Ignoring the drone's objections, J.J. walked forward towards the thought elevator, placing his palm on the gate's surface. There was a look of concentration on his face, before he closed his eyes and the arcane symbols etched on the Eldar ruin began glowing with a slight crimson radiance. Reluctant to miss even a single detail, the Offensive drone activated his effector and started analyzing the thought elevator as J.J. began to unlock it.

"There, it is done. The thought elevator is open, now let us proceed inside. Come with me, Antik-Ultur. Mr. Ethelon, stay outside please," ordered the Code-bearer.

"Didn't you hear me," repeated the drone in an annoyed tone, "Novax and I stick together. We're both going inside."

The immortal stared at the floating, glossy black cylinder with a look of barely held in check frustration before replying, "I need someone to remain outside to protect the thought elevator. Remember, the military is still after you, and if they track you to this location and find the ruin, they will destroy it. And if that happens while we are still inside, then we will be trapped forever."

"Then _I_ should stay outside, if that's the case," argued Antik-Ultur.

"That would be unwise," said J.J. "It is far more dangerous inside the thought elevator than it is on the outside. That's why I want Mr. Ethelon to stay out here."

"What do you mean far more dangerous inside?" inquired the SC agent.

"You didn't think that whoever built this thing wouldn't leave any security system behind. There is a great danger lurking past the thought elevator. I am safe because of my immortality, and your mechanical companion seems formidable enough, but if you go in there, Novax-Ethelon, you will surely die, fancy talking suit or not."

The two companions gave each other a look of suspicion before communicating privately via neural lace, '_I don't like this. It all seems so suspicious_,' thought Antik.

'_I don't either, but he's our only lead. We have to trust him_,' replied Novax, '_Besides, if you run into any trouble, just fight your way out of there as fast as possible_.'

'_I'm worried about you though. I'd rather not leave you out here alone_.'

'_What's there to worry about? The Skrillz are primitive, and I have the gelsuit with me. I'm probably going to be safer than you are, if J.J. is telling the truth about this so-called "great danger".'_

"Is there something wrong, Mr. Ethelon," said the Skrillz native, interrupting there private conversation.

"Not at all, J.J., we've just agreed to your terms. Antik will accompany you through the thought elevator while I stay out here," answered the SC agent.

"Excellent!" exclaimed native tour guide, "Come with me, Antik-Ultur."

The drone followed J.J. hesitantly. Walking up to the thought elevator, the immortal Code-bearer placed his hand on its surface again, causing the bird-like sigil to glow and, in a flash of light, the two were gone.

"Well, I guess it's just you and me, boss," said the gelsuit AI, who had been silent the whole time.

"So it seems."

The gelsuit was about to reply with a snarky comment before the long-range detection mode on its effector suddenly sprang to life.

"Eh, boss, we have a little problem," announced the suit.

"What is it? Has the military found us?" asked the SC agent curiously. "How many troops have they sent this time?"

"Yes they've found us," answered the sentient environmental suit, "But they haven't sent any soldiers."

"Then what's the problem?"

"Oh nothing," replied the suit sarcastically, "Except maybe for the fact that a couple hundred thermonuclear missiles have just been launched at our position."

Novax blanched slightly before responding, "How much time before they impact?"

"Less than twenty minutes at the most. We should be able to stop them if you get out of this underground shithole."

Without even missing a beat, the Special Circumstance operative began running as fast as he could, retracing their steps in order to reach the cave entrance that J.J. had shown them previously.

Upon exiting the cave, Novax-Ethelon had to squint for an instant before his genofixed eyes adapted to the blinding outdoor light. Activating the gelsuit's effectors, Novax scanned the endless swathe of purple sky for any sign of intercontinental ballistic missiles. Finding one, then another, then many more still, the Culturnik raised his plasma pistol, setting the handgun to rapid fire and auto-targeting mode.

With a burst of light, the plasma pistol began firing at over 900 rounds per second, releasing pulses of superheated plasma energy which, thanks to the pistol's integrated aimbot, never missed a target. Hundreds upon hundreds of MIRV warheads were intercepted and destroyed; not a single one of them succeeded in striking their target.

But the missiles just kept coming like an endless barrage. Pitching in, the gelsuit AI used its powerful effectors to subvert many of the ICBMs, using them as kinetic interceptors to collide with other missiles. That, along with the plasma pistol, kept the overwhelming number of high-yield nukes at bay.

Nearly two minutes later, the nuclear barrage stopped. No more ICBMs were launching; the Skrillz had presumably run out of missiles. Sighing in relief, Novax lowered his plasma pistol and triggered its safety.

"Are we in the clear yet, suit?" asked Novax.

"My effectors aren't picking up anymore activity from the Skrillz. It should be safe to-," replied the gelsuit before being interrupted by a large blip on its sensors. The blip had suddenly appeared and was roughly 10,000 kilometers above them.

It was an orbital satellite. An orbital _death_ satellite.

"Oh no, no, no, no, no!" exclaimed the gelsuit, "This can't be happening! Boss, we've got a major problem."

"What? What is it?" questioned the SC agent.

"We've got some sort of structure orbiting directly above us, and it matches the profile of an XO-1034b Type Orbital Laser Satellite."

"You can't be serious!" exclaimed Novax-Ethelon, "I thought you said the kill sat was on the other side of the world!"

"It is on the other side of the world. But this one is different. They have _two _of them," replied the gelsuit AI, "I have no idea how the Skrillz were able to hide an entire freaking _orbital death satellite_ from our Intel, but they did."

"Why didn't anyone notice that before?" asked Novax in panic.

"I think," said the suit, "it was cloaked somehow. I only noticed the kill sat when it suddenly appeared as a blip on my effectors. It just came out of _nowhere_."

"That's impossible, the Skrillz don't have cloaking technology."

"Well, it seems that we're wrong, because that was almost certainly a darkfield cloak."

"You don't think that maybe the Seythlcoa are behind this," wondered Novax.

"It's a big possibility," replied the gelsuit,

As the gelsuit and its wearer were discussing the unexpected presence of an orbital death satellite, the object in question, orbiting UCP-3422 at over 6000 miles above ground, began the initiation of its primary weapon, a thermonuclear-pumped X-ray laser. With the press of a button, multiple fusion bombs are detonated in an explosive-and-thermal resistant chamber. The energy of each small bomb is converted into high-energy gamma ray photons, which are then redirected to and channeled by a laser medium of glass rods, causing a stimulated emission of X-ray photons in the rods.

As the number of X-ray photons begin to build up, after a few dozen seconds of charging and more fusion bombs exploding, optical amplification of the X-ray photons is triggered, leading to the generation of a powerful X-ray laser beam. Unlike earlier iterations of the bomb-pumped laser, the XO-1034b was not a one-shot weapon due to its well-designed blast chambers used to harness the energy of thermonuclear fusion reactions.

"I think our problem just got worse. Much worse," said the gelsuit AI.

"Is the kill sat starting to fire?" asked Novax.

"Yes, yes it is," replied the suit.

"Oh really, that's nice," stated Novax, with lethal sarcasm dripping from his deadpan voice.

"I'm beginning to wonder why I volunteered for this," said the AI before they were engulfed by a blinding white light.

In one-thirtieth of a single second, the massively powerful, low exawatt-rated beam of destroying light fired from the kill sat hit the exact location that one hapless Novax-Ethelon was currently occupying, lasting for a few brief seconds and delivering a total energy yield of nearly twelve exajoules, or roughly three gigatons of TNT.

Everything around him was utterly annihilated, leaving a boiling, desolate crater that stretched for miles and miles. As for the SC agent himself; his advance gelfield suit had succeeded in protecting its wearer by absorbing most of the energy directed at him, but it was just too much. The combination of intense heat and burning light overwhelmed the gelsuit's forcefields and vaporized it completely, leaving Novax stark naked in the middle of a now devastated wasteland with massive burns and charcoaled flesh all over his body.

In the distance, far outside the pillar of light's zone of absolute destruction, a man by the name of Felle Sarcaghi viewed the entire scene with a smirk and a grin underneath his bloodstained mask.

* * *

><p>"Fascinating," said Antik-Ultur, "All of this is just so fascinating."<p>

The Culture drone and the Skrillz tour guide were currently on top of a large floating platform, suspended above a sea of clouds illuminated from above by a twilight sky and what appeared to be a Jovian gas giant. The floating platform was basically an upside down pyramid with its flat base acting as the top.

Beyond the platform were two flights of suspended stairways connecting the platform to an even larger platform, with a massive temple-like structure constructed on it. Behind the temple's main building was a radiant yellow sun shining beyond the horizon.

"What is this place," wondered Antik out loud.

"This is the Eleventh Sword of Akasha," answered J.J., "There are a total of thirteen, and the seven thought elevators on the planet you call Atalana XIII leads to the Thirteenth Sword."

"What are the Swords of Akasha? What is there purpose? How old are they, and who built them?" asked Antik in curiosity.

"So many questions, my mechanical friend," remarked J.J. sarcastically, "Many questions of which not even I, a Code-bearer, has the answer to."

"So you don't know anything about the Sword of Akasha."

"Nothing in detail, but I think I have the gist of what this thing is," replied the Skrillz.

"And what would that be."

"It's a weapon," explained the immortal, "A weapon to kill the gods."

Antik-Ultur's aura field flashed to the color of deep thought, as the Offensive drone pondered his guide's cryptic words. A weapon to kill the gods, thought Antik, what gods? He didn't believe in gods. Most members of the Culture didn't. The closest things to gods were the Sublimed, beings who came from this universe but evolved into god-like cosmic entities by ascending to a higher plane of existence. But anyone, and literally anyone, could undergo Sublimation if they had sufficient technology.

"But of course," continued J.J., "What they mean by "gods" is simply a figure of speech, one of which I do not know the connotation of, unfortunately. So the true and literal purpose of this…artifact is unknown to me."

"That just makes things more complicated," replied Antik.

The sentient drone began to analyze the Eleventh Sword of Akasha and its surrounding environment with his effectors. The readings his sensors received were…shocking, for lack of a better term.

"This…place," said Antik in awe, "It's all contained in some sort of…micro dimension pocket. Incredible, the technology here, it's far more advance then anything I've ever seen."

"You see, I told you the thought elevator was a gate to another world," taunted J.J. smugly.

"It seems you're right, I was wrong to doubt you," replied the Culture drone, "Anyways, where is that "great danger" you were speaking of. It's not going to pop out of nowhere and attack, is it?"

To his surprise, Antik's native tour guide suddenly began chuckling, becoming louder and louder until he was laughing like a maniac. Numerous warning signs started popping up in Antik's AI core, telling him that there was most definitely something very wrong with the immortal Code-bearer.

"You mean you don't realize it yet, my dear friend," said J.J. after calming down a bit, "The "great danger" I was speaking of…is me!"

Taking all of one microsecond to process what the Skrillz had just said, the trigger happy SC combat drone reacted with his multi-gigaton per second CREWS, or Coherent Radiation Energy Weapon System, essentially an extremely powerful laser. The beam of directed light energy moving at 300,000 kilometers per second seemed to hit instantly from the perspective of animal brains who consider a second a very shot period of time, vaporizing the Code-bearers body into its component atoms.

Giving off the drone equivalent of a sigh of relief, Antik-Ultur relaxes slightly before remembering a very important fact; J.J. is immortal.

"Did you honestly think that would kill me?" said a voice. The voice was disembodied and without origin, seemingly resonating from every direction, but not for long. Soon, the form of J.J. began rematerializing in front of the drone, right where his last body had been vaporized. Antik tried to attack again, but he found that his body had become frozen like ice, incapable of movement or action.

"How are you doing this?" asked the immobile combat drone with a hint of fear laced in his synthetic voice.

"I am a Code-bearer and this Sword of Akasha belongs to _me_," explained the treacherous immortal, "In this place, I have the power of a _god_! This entire dimension is but a mere canvas upon which I can freely paint the very substance of my imagination. In here, I am _omnipotent_!"

"Someone has a massive ego complex," said Antik sarcastically, "I was suspicious of you since we first met, you know?"

"Were you really? Good for you, my dear friend," replied J.J., "Too bad your partner was too trusting for his own good."

"I'm assuming that you've laid a trap for Novax too?"

"You are correct in assuming. The whole purpose of this endeavor was to separate you two, so I could isolate Mr. Ethelon and lure him to his demise."

"My, we have a monologue-obsessed villain here. Haven't you heard; you should always kill your enemy as soon as possible, before they decide to spring any traps on you."

As soon as he had said that, the cloaked antimatter time bomb that Antik-Ultur had hidden upon entering the thought elevator detonated, reacting several tons of collapsed matter and antimatter together with near-perfect efficiency, releasing nearly a teraton of energy within the small pocket dimension containing the Eleventh Sword of Akasha.

An ingenious trap which would have succeeded in destroying the Sword and freeing Antik-Ultur from his unbreakable bonds, except for one little problem; inside this space, the immortal Code-bearer J.J. was omnipotent. Without even so much as a snap or a flick of the wrists for theatrical purposes, J.J. contained the massive explosion, compressed it into an extremely miniscule point with his mind, and then annihilated its energy _completely, _violating the laws of conservation of mass-energy.

If Antik was alarmed by his trap's failure, he didn't show it.

"I already told you that my will is reality," stated J.J. menacingly.

"I was kind of hoping that the meaning of the word "omnipotent" was different on your world."

"Well, you thought wrong, and now you shall pay the price for it."

"Why are you doing this J.J.?" asked the drone, "What's in it for you?"

The red-skinned alien smirked devilishly before replying, "I'm in it for my master, of course. He was the one who asked me to do this in the first place."

"You have a master? What kind of self-proclaimed god are you?"

"One who is tired of your annoying questions. Now be gone, I have more important things to do than chat with you," said J.J. before waving his hand and annihilating the very fabric of reality that composed Antik-Ultur's physical existence, reducing the drone to pure nothingness in an instant.

* * *

><p>Opening his badly burnt eyes, Novax-Ethelon was greeted by a searing, omnipresent pain. It was everywhere, his eyes, his face, his arms, his chest, his legs, and his skin. Oh, his skin, it was the worst. It felt like an entire layer of his epidermis had been melted off. It felt like he had been zapped by a lightning bolt, or ignited and burnt alive, or drowned in a river of stinging acid.<p>

It felt like hell.

He was naked too; his clothes and gelsuit had been vaporized, and his genitalia had been seared off. Ouch. There was nothing down there but burnt flesh and a horrible numbing pain. He could faintly smell the stink of charcoaled skin through his irritated nostrils, and all of his hair follicles seemed to be gone, even his eyebrows. Novax could already feel his genofixed body healing itself, and he was pretty sure that Culture medical technology could fix any permanent damage, but damn, it hurt like a _bitch_.

Glanding painkillers into his system, the SC agent felt the pain receding, fortunately. After recovering somewhat, Novax looked around, finding himself lying on his stomach in a desolate crater. He tried to get up and walk, but he was still too weak, so he started crawling forward slowly using his arms for locomotion.

The Special Circumstance operative activated his neural lace, a standard genofix implant that allowed Culturniks to not only interface mentally with technology but also send messages and communicate; basically the Culture equivalent of a mobile phone that is literally with you wherever you go.

Novax-Ethelon sent a lightspeed signal to the transport module that had shuttled him and his drone partner to the planet. Hopefully, the module's communication system would receive the light-based communication signal and convert it into faster-than-light hyperwave signals, boosting it so that it could reach the nearest Culture starship.

Alas, that was not to be, as the signal was intercepted, converted into another form, and redirected back to its origin.

"Nice try, SC scum, but you'll have to do better than that," said the converted message.

Looking up, the alarmed SC agent saw what could only be described as a demon approaching him. It was humanoid, possibly even human, and clad in a black cloak-like trench coat, with a high collar covering the bottom half of his face. The demon man's face itself was covered in a white mask stained with splotches of dried blood. On top of his head was a dark green fedora with a scarlet feather sticking out.

In his left hand was an unusual contraption, looking almost like a remote control. Little did he know that this device was a handheld effector unit, the very same that was responsible for intercepting his SOS signal.

"Who are you," asked Novax.

"My name is Felle Sarcaghi," replied the cloak-clad humanoid succinctly before pointing his handheld effector at the burnt, naked man. "And this little gizmo is called the Soul Trapper."

An effector is an extremely versatile device used ubiquitously amongst the Involved civilizations of the galaxy; it can act as a highly-advanced sensor, a tool for electronic warfare and countermeasures, a remote manipulator, or even as a weapon. Effectors function by manipulating energy patterns, usually through hyperspace. Most effectors work with electromagnetic energy, but many different types of energy can also be affected.

For example, Culture Minds, which are essentially giant FTL computers composed of a substrate of free neutrons and protons submerged in a hyperspatial matrix, with no electronic parts to speak of, can still be subverted using effectors.

Effectors can remotely absorb energy from an object, draining its power, or blow energy into it, causing an overload. Effectors can hack both computers and organic brains, extracting information from them, implanting insurmountable commands, or simply shutting them down completely. There was no defense against an effector, not even the most advance shielding technology available to the Culture can block them. The only way to protect against effectorization is to counter with your own effectors.

For something so versatile with so many uses and functions, extracting Novax-Ethalon's mind state, his very consciousness and the closest thing to a soul that science can explain, was child's play for the "Soul Trapper". With his gelsuit disintegrated, Novax had no effector of his own to prevent his involuntary mind state upload, leaving his physical body a soulless husk on the ground.

As for the SC agent's consciousness; converted into digital form and stored inside the database of Felle Sarcaghi's "Soul Trapper". For what purpose; unknown.

His job done, Felle irreverently kicked Novax's former body aside, as if it was merely a piece of trash. Placing the handheld effector in his pocket, the masked figure watched as the thought elevator began to reassemble inside the crater, until it looked like it hadn't just been vaporized by an orbital death satellite.

There was flash of crimson light as the arcane symbols embedded upon the thought elevator's surface began glowing, signaling the arrival of a four foot tall, red-skinned humanoid.

The immortal Skrillz, upon noticing the presence of the trench coated man, received a look of pride on his face before calling out, "Your ingenious plan was a success, Master. The machine has been disposed of."

"Of course, they usually are," replied Felle Sarcaghi with a touch of arrogance in his tone, "Never the less, excellent work, J.J. At this rate, you'll receive your reward sooner than planned."

"Ah, the sweet release of death," said the immortal, "I can hardly wait, Master."

"Now go run along, J.J. The military is probably going to be all over this place pretty soon; they're probably wondering who hacked their entire nuclear arsenal and one of their kill sats."

Complying with his master's advice, the traitorous tour guide ran off as fast as he could, eager to leave this desolate crater.

Now alone, the demonic figure gazed at the thought elevator for a moment before saying out loud, "We're going to have to hide that somehow; looks pretty suspicious in the middle of this giant crater."

"**We can have that arranged, Felle Sarcaghi**," said a voice in his head. Normally, hearing booming voices in one's head would be a call for alarm, but Felle knew it was just the Seythlcoa using effector technology to send messages directly to his head. It was annoying in his opinion and a bit over dramatic, but they were his clients, so he would just have to deal with it.

In a flash of light, the massive thought elevator disappeared; probably displaced to some far away location, most likely underground. Good, now the Skrillz only had to deal with a giant crater where a tranquil, luscious valley was previously located, rather than a giant crater _and_ a mystical gateway to another dimension.

"So, bird brain, what do you think; a job well done?" asked Felle with absolutely no respect for the avian alien talking in his head. He knew he looked crazy, talking out loud, but he didn't care. There was no one around anyways.

"**When the High Council of Seythlcoa gave you permission to do whatever was necessary to prevent the other Involved from discovering the Swords of Akasha, we didn't mean that you could use the **_**thought elevator itself**_** as bait in your trap**," reprimanded the voice, "**That was a risky maneuver you pulled off, Felle Sarcaghi**."

"Hey, it worked didn't it," countered Felle, "That's why you enlisted my services in the first place; I bring results."

"**Indeed you do**," replied the voice, "**It's the only reason we haven't cut you loose after all the stunts you've pulled**."

"Well, if you had given me some decent equipment rather than send me alone to a primitive backwater planet and expected me to eliminate a highly trained SC agent and a heavily-armed Offensive drone, maybe I wouldn't have needed to pull a stunt like that," said the masked man, "Trapping the drone inside the Sword of Akasha was literally the _only_ thing in this entire star system that had any chance whatsoever of actually getting rid of it."

"**Your concerns have been noted and will be addressed sometime in the future. In the meanwhile, you have a new assignment**."

"Oh really?" inquired Felle, his curiosity enticed, "Now I'm interested; give me some details on this new mission."

"**Basically the same objective as this mission; maintain the thought elevators' secrecy**," explained the voice, "**The only difference is the location**."

"And where exactly would that be?"

"**Have you heard of a planet called Earth**."

[Break]

_dROU Eternal Requiem, Culture Space, 2016 a.t.b._

Lelouch once thought that he was immune to being surprised. He thought wrong. Of course, it's not everyday that he receives authorization to undertake a mission that he's practically given up on ever receiving. It's also not everyday that a Culture Mind declares itself to be his personal starship.

So could anyone blame him for being just a little bit _shocked_?

"Welcome home, big brother!" greeted Sol-Terrasa Nunnally Diziet vi Britannia da' Pendragon enthusiastically. It's funny how every time she had said that to him in the past year or so had been in a completely different location. But of course, everywhere in the Culture was home for the semi-nomadic Culturniks; whether it be a ship, an orbital, or even the rare Culture planets that still existed in some obscure, backward regions of the Culture's "territory".

Giving his beloved little sister a genuine, heartwarming smile, the raven-haired teen replied, "Glad to be home, my sweet Nunnally," before reaching forward with his hands and tickling the girl's sensitive sides. In response, the former princess began giggling uncontrollably, which was followed by outright laughing with tears in her eyes and irresistible squirms and jolts racking her slender frame.

"S-s-stop it, b-big bro-brother Lulu," cried Nunnally while being practically tickled to death. Listening to her giggling pleas for mercy, the SC agent stopped torturing his little sister with his playful, dancing fingers. "I see that you're still ticklish, Nana."

The thirteen-almost-fourteen-year old had change much from the blind, crippled little girl she had been before they were rescued by the Culture. Besides the obvious lack of her disabilities, she was taller; reaching all the way up to his chin. Her wavy, light brown hair was longer now and she wore it down. Her figure was no longer child-like; it had a more mature look to it that many girls back on Earth would kill to have. All in all, she looked less of a 13-year old and more like she was 16 or 17.

It was all thanks to the Culture of course; a combination of perfect health, genofixing, and a near-perfect diet. Lelouch thanked God that his precious little sister was still a virgin; she was going through puberty soon and he didn't know how much longer it was before she lost her innocence. Hopefully one or two more years, but he doubted it. The Culture was called a hedonist's paradise for a reason, after all.

"So brother, how was you're mission?" asked the once-crippled girl curiously. Sitting down at a comfy AG field chair that was in Nunnally's spacious living quarters, Lelouch began to recount the highlights of his last assignment. He started with some background; he told her about Planet Nebelum and the war between Rhodos and Marion, about Franskua DeMurai and the military junta, and about the X.

Then Lelouch went on about how he had assassinated the X, using as many euphemisms as possible, and then infiltrated the Fortress Jaburon. After finishing with the death of Grand Generalissimo DeMurai, Lelouch decided that it was the perfect time to tell her about his new mission to Earth and the _Requiem's _proposal.

"Oh my gosh, big brother, that's great!" exclaim Nunnally in response to his news, "I'm so happy for you; I know how much you wanted to return to our…home world and help out."

"Thank you Nunnally, I'm glad too. No, I'm ecstatic, positively ecstatic. But you can see how much of a surprise this was for me, can't you."

"Yeah, I remember how big sister Dizzy always told you that you couldn't go on a mission to Earth. You were so disappointed; I think that was one of the only times you've ever been mad at big sis," said Nunnally.

"Well, it no longer matters, because I'm going to Earth now."

"And I'm going with you," added Nunnally abruptly.

"Huh?"

"I said I'm going to Earth, and nothing you, Dizzy, Roma, or any of the Minds say can stop me!" declared the former princess, with an unbelievably cute expression of determination on her face. It would have been hilarious if it wasn't so absolutely _frightening_. Hell hath no fury like a women scorned.

A part of Lelouch was telling him to say no, but he knew that when Nunnally had that look, there was absolutely no resisting or arguing with her. Now he would just have to convince the others…

As if hearing his thoughts, a new voice chimed in, "**Of course Nunnally can come along**." It was the _Eternal Requiem's_ Mind herself. Lelouch jerked a little bit in surprise; even after nearly seven years of living in the Culture, he was still not used to the way some Minds would just randomly pop into a conversation. It was partially his fault for not requesting privacy mode though.

"Really, I can come along?" asked Nunnally.

"**As long as you don't jeopardize the mission in any way, which I'm sure you won't, then its perfectly fine**," replied the Culture Mind, "**I'm aware of the fact that Earth was your homeworld as well, and it would be wrong if I denied you the chance to visit it with Lelouch**."

"Yay! Thank you soo very much, Ship!" exclaimed Nunnally in gratitude, "This means a lot to me."

"**What say you, Lelouch vi Britannia**," the Mind addressed Lelouch dramatically, "**Do you approve of your sister tagging along. It is your mission after all, so you have a say in this**."

"Please let me go, brother Lulu," pleaded Nunnally.

"You know I can't say no to you Nunnally," said Lelouch while sighing, "But on one condition; you're going to be wearing a gelfield suit at all times for protection, and whenever there's any real danger, I want you to stay as far away as possible."

Yes, mother," replied the former princess in jest. Lelouch knew that he really didn't need to tell her this; she was a big girl now who could take care of herself. But old habits die hard, as they say.

"**So, I take it that you haven't told her about our…arrangement yet, eh, **_**Captain **_**Lelouch**," said the _Requiem_.

"Huh? What is she talking about, brother?" inquired the 13-year old girl, "And why did she call you "Captain"."

Lelouch sighed again, fiddling with a four-dimensional Rubix cube-like object that he had gotten from a table in Nunnally's room, while he wondered how he was going to explain the Mind's proposal to his little sister. Truth be told, he didn't know what to think about being the "Captain" of the _Eternal Requiem_; one side of him felt excited about the whole arrangement, while another side considered it a troublesome situation.

"Apparently, this dROU is now my personal starship or something like that," explained Lelouch tersely, "It was the Mind's idea; she asked me to become her "Captain" and I accepted."

"So the _Requiem_ is your personal vessel now? But I thought you couldn't own sentient machines in the Culture?" asked Nunnally in puzzlement.

"**Think of it as less "ownership", and more of a "partnership"**," explained the ship's Mind. "**Sort of like the bond between an SC agent and his or her drone companion, but with a Captain and his starship instead**."

"Captain Lelouch vi Britannia, huh," said Nunnally, pronouncing each individual word with fondness, 'I think that sounds cool. But what exactly does being "Captain" of this starship entail?"

"**Well**," said the Culture Mind, "**as Captain, Lelouch has a major say in when and where I go. He can also determine interior ship design; like whether a room will be a living quarter or a storage room, or whether the carpeting in the hallways will be blue or red, things like that. And he can request for people on the ship to leave, if he has a very good reason, and they would have to listen to him as if he were me**."

"All of that, plus a few perks that I'd rather not go into detail about, or else you might get terribly bored," added Lelouch, "And of course, the ship's Mind can override any decision I make since this vessel is technically her "body", even if I am its "Captain". And either of us can sever the contract at any time."

"Sounds interesting; so what are you going to do now that you're "Captain"?" wondered Nunnally out loud.

"I really haven't thought of that," responded the former prince, "I doubt that I'll be exercising my new authority any time soon, though. Then again, I always preferred the carpeting in the hallways to be red."

"**It is done**," announced the ship's Mind, who had just replaced the blue carpeting in every hallway to a regal scarlet color.

"Wow, that was pretty fast," remarked Lelouch, "Do you think I could change the exterior too. I think we should go for a sleeker, more tear drop-like…"

"**Not a chance**," interrupted the Mind.

"What a shame; I was never fond of the way Culture warships were designed," replied the Destroyer of Worlds, "Too brutish and ugly for my tastes, no offense to you, _Requiem_.

"They're meant to be designed that way," said another voice. It was Lelouch's handler and fellow SC agent, Diziet Sma. She was trailed by two Culture drones; the suitcase-esque Skaffen-Amtiskaw and Lelouch's own drone companion, Soren-Romana.

"Culture warships are purposely built to look ugly in order to represent the Culture's disdain for warfare," continued Diziet, "You could say that it's a way for peace-loving Culture citizens to subconsciously deny that they have actual warships."

"I never understood that," stated Lelouch, "even unarmed General Contact Units can blow up planets by braking too hard, but no one bothers making them look ugly."

"It's a matter of degrees," said Skaffen-Amtiskaw, joining the conversation, "A GCU might be able to destroy a planet, but a fully armed, dildo-shaped GOU could literally _fuck_ an _entire_ star system." He was referring to the General Offensive Units of course, the Culture equivalent of a heavily armed battleship. Only militarized GSV's surpassed GOUs in raw firepower and defensive capabilities, but only because they were thousands of times larger in mass and volume; GOUs packed more firepower pound per pound.

"**Well, if you lot are done discussing how my design is so terribly "ugly" as if I wasn't here**," butted in the Culture Mind sarcastically, "**I would like to inform you all that I've set a direct course for Sol System**."

"How long will it take to reach Sol?" asked Romana.

"**Roughly ten days**," answered the ship's Mind, "**give or take a few hours**."

"Wait, hold on! I seem to recall that we still haven't left Arameth, which is about 40,000 light-years away from Earth," said the Destroyer of Worlds, "With standard hyperdrive speeds, a trip like that should take a little over _70_ days."

"Yes, with the old hyperdrive engines you would be correct but," Diziet began to explain, "With the new hyper_warp _technology, starships can make that trip in a fraction of the time. And this ship has had its engines recently upgraded."

Lelouch had almost forgotten about hyperwarp; a very recent technological breakthrough. So recent that; prior to his last mission, it was purely theoretical. It was amazing how they were able to implement practical hyperwarp engines onboard a starship so quickly.

The difference between the new hyperwarp engines and the older, more common hyperdrives was very simple. Hyperwarp technology essentially combined aspects of hyperdrive with warp drive technology, an even older method of faster-than-light travel. Warp drives relied on warping the fabric of the space-time continuum, allowing a vessel to attain superluminal velocities in real space, as oppose to hyperdrive engines which required a starship to travel through a higher dimension.

The major drawback of warp drive technology is that they're a lot slower than hyperspace travel; the fastest warp drives ever developed in the galaxy were only capable of 1000 _c _at the most, while standard hyperdrive engines could reach up to velocities of 100,000 _c _or more! The advantage of warp drives, however, was that they could be built much smaller than hyperdrives, allowing small units like drones or powered suits to reach FTL speeds.

But then, a few centuries back, a Morthanveld scientist had an idea; why not combine the two! How hard could it be to generate a warp field around a ship in hyperspace?

Well, it actually turned out to be pretty difficult, so a practical hyperwarp engine wasn't developed until much later. But now starships equipped with new hyperwarp drives could cruise at upwards of a _million _times the speed of light! At those speeds, a ship could cross the entire Milky Way in less than 40 days.

"So," said Romana, interrupting Lelouch's musings, "We have less than two weeks before we reach Earth and the mission begins. I think that's plenty of time for a tour of your new ship, _Mon capitan_."

* * *

><p>The two weeks passed by quickly, rather like a blur, and Lelouch had spent most of his time playing (and usually winning) more games with Romana, trying to convince Diziet Sma to make love with him (he only managed to get a chaste kiss on the cheek for his troubles, but hey, it was better than nothing), or preparing for his upcoming assignment in VR.<p>

He had of course taken a tour of the entire ship, but the _Eternal Requiem_ was only 350-meters long, and most of its internal space was taken up by munitions or its sizable engine units. The "crew" was rather small as well; less than a hundred people and it didn't take long before he knew most of them by name at least.

Even after ten days had passed they hadn't reached their intended destination, but that was only because of the numerous stops the dROU had to take in order to drop off or pick up more passengers. Now Lelouch was currently sitting at a circular table in a large lobby; one of the largest rooms onboard the ship. The lobby had grayish-gunmetal walls, with a massive array of windows covering the majority of one wall. The windows had a breathtaking view of the darkness of space and a field of stars shining like little pinpricks in the far off distance.

The lobby was divided into three elevated levels, connected via numerous staircases and escalators. The second level which he was on was like a large balcony or terrace overlooking the bottom levels, with many tables strewn around to give people a place to sit. At the other end of the balcony level was a wall of transparent glass; on the other side of which was a room full of pools and Jacuzzis.

The bottom level which the balcony overlooked had a light purple, almost pinkish marble floor with an Oasis-like patch of nature covering nearly half of its area. There was an artificial river flowing through the bottom-level, with small arches and bridge ways built above, and what seemed like a miniature dance floor in the corner.

The clever SC agent was currently trying to solve a holographic glyph puzzle. Using a digital stylus, Lelouch reached into the immaterial space within the Mind-developed glyph, and began writing, carving, and inscribing surreal characters of a runic sense, trying to make some sense of the confounding puzzle embedded within the glyph. What he was doing, what he was trying to do, was said to be impossible for any ordinary human; the glyph was first developed by the Culture Minds themselves in order to write down information in a way that humans or other 1.0 Level intelligences were incapable of understanding or reproducing.

"How long have you been at that?" wondered his sister Nunnally out loud. The once-crippled girl was sitting in the chair next to him, staring intensely at the glyph as if it contained the secrets of the universe or something equally grandiose.

"Since I got here," he replied, "So almost two weeks, and I still haven't completed it. But don't worry; I'll solve this thing eventually."

"Not to be a pessimist, but I doubt it," stated Diziet, who was sitting across from them at the same table, "A lot of very intelligent people have tried to figure out one of those, but not even the Player of Games himself has ever solved one."

"That just motivates me even more," said the raven-haired 16-year old, "Hey, I've got an idea. If I manage to solve this puzzle, you should reward me by ma-…"

"Not a chance!" exclaimed the female SC agent, interrupting Lelouch.

The raven-haired teen merely shrugged and replied, "Well, you can't blame me for trying. By the way, where's Romana?"

"No clue; I think she's with Skaffy somewhere," answered Diziet, "Maybe there doing "drone things" together."

"I wasn't even aware that drones had "drone things". And for some reason, I'd rather not know what these "things" are."

"So," said Nunnally, attempting to change the subject, "Are you two excited for the mission? It's only a few more days before we reach Earth."

"I can hardly wait," replied Lelouch, "I wonder how much it's changed since we left?"

"Do you think we can see Suzaku again? And maybe even sister Euphie?"

"I don't know, Nana. Suzaku…well, I'm not even completely sure that he managed to survive the invasion," stated the former prince solemnly, "And as for Euphie; she's technically an enemy now, since she's a Britannian princess."

"But Euphie is so nice; she doesn't have to be an enemy!" exclaimed Nunnally.

"No, no she doesn't."

* * *

><p>Cher-Mawrindorei Seyla Anise Orasno di Vondaria looked around at her new quarters, taking in the relatively small living space as well as the warm, homely presence permeating throughout the room. It was rather Spartan; Seyla and her companion hadn't quite gotten to furnishing or decorating it, mainly because they had just arrived less than half an hour ago.<p>

But it felt like home already; a good sign considering that the _Eternal Requiem_ would be their home for the next few months or so. The residential unit they requested had a bedroom with two tensor field beds, one for each of them, and a living room with a large, comfy sofa perfect for small parties, as well as a holographic cinema projector for entertaining their guest. Overall, the accommodations were very nice for a warship, albeit a demilitarized one.

"Hey, Seyla," called her companion, a rather attractive women with long, dark tresses of hair in Earth's hime cut style and smooth skin tanned a very light brown. Her full name was Rasd-Diseed Corusca-Kaylei Auduma di Stavros, but friends referred to her as either Corusca or Kaylei. Seyla had only met her about a year ago, back in her home system of Cher, but they became fast friends. It was Seyla's idea to move to the _Requiem_, and Corusca loyally followed her.

"What is it, Corusca?" asked the former bartender.

"Is the Destroyer of Worlds really on this ship?" Corusca's tone of voice was giddy and excited; she was a big fan of the famous Lelouch vi Britannia and his adventures as an agent of Special Circumstances.

"I told you didn't I; Lelouch was one of the reasons I decided to move to this ship in the first place," replied Seyla.

"You knew him didn't you? Was he your friend?" questioned the curious Culturnik.

"Yeah, he was friend; back when I was still tending bars on the _Lasagna Hog_ as a hobby. But I haven't seen him in quite a while, so I thought this would be a good idea for a little reunion."

"Do you think I could possibly…meet him to?"

Seyla chuckled at her companion's almost comically shy yet hopeful facial expression, before reclining on the relaxing AG field chair in their bedroom. She activated the Terminal implant in her brain and opened one of her data files containing a story she had started writing recently. It was about an exiled prince who started a rebellion against the very empire that had shunned him…

While updating the still in-progress story in her Terminal, the multi-tasking Culturnik continued her conversation with Corusca, "Of course you can, silly. Why wouldn't you be able to meet him?"

"I don't know…what if he's not interested in me?"

"Don't worry; despite what the rumors say Lelouch is not some sort of celibate hero. He has just as much libido as the rest of us; although he's a little more conservative because of the world he was born on," explained Seyla, "But I think you look like his type, and you're about the same age as him, maybe a little older."

"What about you?" asked Corusca, "Have you and him ever…well you know…," Unlike most members of the Culture, Corusca had a hard time expressing things of a sexual nature.

"No, definitely not; when I knew him he was still going through puberty. But if the things I've heard about him are true, it's definitely a possibility in the near future," said Seyla with a grin, "But hey, are you going to be busy with anything soon?"

"No, why do you ask?

"Well, if you're not busy, and I'm not busy, then why don't we go meet him right now?"

* * *

><p><em>Caprik Station, Culture Space, 2016 a.t.b.<em>

The relatively small ship exited hyperspace right on time and roughly ten-and-a-half light-hours from the station; a several kilometer-wide structure located in the interstellar void over ten light-years from the nearest star system. Using the flight suit's sophisticated sensors; he could easily locate the vessel amongst the dark backdrop of space.

Activating the powered suit's built-in Warp drive, he took off from the station and began cruising towards the starship's position. At nearly 1000 _c_, it would take less than a minute to reach his destination. He could have easily just been displaced onboard the vessel, but he had never been comfortable with casual displacement.

After sending a message announcing his arrival and requesting permission to come on board, he received a reply from the ship's Culture Mind almost instantly.

"**Welcome aboard the dROU **_**Eternal Requiem**_**, Mr. Zakalwe**."

* * *

><p><em>dROU Eternal Requiem, Culture Space, 2016 a.t.b.<em>

Lelouch watched Diziet in the corner of his eyes as she slow danced with some random stranger on the ballroom floor. He felt a slight tinge of jealousy swell in his heart, but squashed it down with the memory of his own waltz with the goddess earlier in the night. At the moment, he was lounging at a sofa on the bottom floor of the ship's main lobby, listening to the relaxing sound of the artificial river.

The former prince had taken a break from his holo glyph puzzle and started a game of chess with Nunnally. Not a challenge at all, but he was spending time with his little sister and that's all that mattered. That's when he noticed a familiar figure with shoulder-length, brunette hair in his peripheral vision.

Calling out to her, Lelouch yelled out loud, "Seyla, is that you?"

Turning towards his voice, the figure took a short moment to recognize him, before happily waving in return. The former bartender then gestured to her companion, a beautiful girl he had never met before, and then began making her way to his location, her friend in tow.

"Is that Seyla, Lelouch?" asked his sister in curiosity. After confirming with her, Nunnally's face lit up like a Christmas tree, excited by the prospect of being reunited with one of their first friends in the Culture.

"Hey there cutey!" exclaimed Seyla after she had approached them, causing Lelouch to develop a slight hint of blush on his cheeks, "Someone has grown up since I last saw them, eh, Mr. Destroyer of Worlds. Oh, and hello to you too, Nunnally, you're so big now."

"Hi, Seyla," replied the former princess cheerily in a singsong voice.

Lelouch noticed Seyla's companion; how could he not when she had gorgeous, waist-length, raven hair and an attractive _Moreno _complexion. He also noticed how she was keeping a short distance from them and making shy glances in his direction every few seconds.

"Who's your friend, Seyla?" asked Lelouch, causing the dark-haired girl to jump slightly at being mentioned.

"Oh this is…well why don't you introduce yourself, hon," said the ex-barkeep.

The girl looked at him nervously and gave a timid little wave before introducing herself, "M-my name is Rasd-Diseed C-Corusca-Kaylei Auduma di Stavros, but my friends call me either Corusca or K-Kaylei."

"It's always a pleasure to meet someone as pretty as you, Corusca" said Lelouch smoothly, laying down the charm before taking Corusca's hand and giving it a quick kiss. In response, the girl began blushing immensely at Lelouch's actions.

"T-thank y-you for the compliment, Mr.…" trailed Corusca before being interrupted.

"Just call me Lelouch."

"Lelouch it is then," said the girl with a cute smile, not even stuttering at all this time.

"Those rumors about you being some ice king were completely wrong; you're such a player Lelouch," said Seyla sarcastically, causing all present company except for the aforementioned player to begin laughing heartily.

"That he is," said a new voice. It was Diziet Sma in her glittering blue evening dress, taking a break from the dance floor.

"Ah, Seyla, you remember Dizzy here, don't you?" inquired the raven-haired teen.

"Of course I remember her!" responded Seyla-Orasno with enthusiasm.

"And I definitely remember you," replied Diziet; the bisexual SC agent then gave her a hungry, seductive look that caused the former bartender to visibly gulp.

"Umm, well anyways," said Seyla nervously, "Where is that crazy drone of yours, Skatty-Liskoflaw his name was or something like that."

"You mean Skaffen-Amtiskaw," answered Diziet. Seyla nodded, "He's off somewhere with another drone we know."

"I swear that guy has some unhealthy obsession with castrating me," added Lelouch with a shiver, causing the rest of the group to either laugh or look at him funny.

"Well that's Skaffy for you," said Diziet, "I've said this before and I'll say it again, but I consider that drone to be an excessively violent and self-important individual with an exaggerated concern for my safety…but, he means well and I wouldn't have him any other way."

* * *

><p>The group of five continued conversing, becoming reacquainted with each other over steaming cups of hot cocoa (happily provided by the ship's Mind) and stories of all kinds. As they got to know each other better, Lelouch learned that Corusca the shy girl wasn't really so shy after all; when she had opened up and realized that Lelouch was just a human and not some god to be worshiped, Corusca was actually rather interesting to talk to.<p>

It turned out that both raven-haired teens had a lot in common; when Lelouch learned that Corusca had a fondness for chess he challenged her almost immediately. Although the game was a quick victory in Lelouch's favor, the girl was more of challenge than he would have expected.

By then Lelouch and Corusca were practically enamored with each other, unconsciously splintering off from the rest of the group and starting their own little private conversation; both of them absorbed in what the other had to say. Corusca gave a vivid recounting of her childhood growing up in the Culture without a care in the world, while Lelouch countered with his own story of an exiled Britannian prince. Corusca laughed inwardly at the obvious similarities between Lelouch's life and her best friend's budding storyline.

After what seemed like hours of talking and laughing, Lelouch asked the beautiful girl to dance with him. Taking his hand, Corusca allowed herself to be led to the dance floor, as a slow, romantic song began playing in the background. Wrapping his arms around her perfectly slender waist, Lelouch began moving his feet slowly with the groove, while the still somewhat-shy girl looked nervously at everything but his face.

Cupping her chin, Lelouch adjusted Corusca's face so that their eyes were connected. Amethyst met hazel as Lelouch marveled at the beauty of his dance partner and the pleasant, rosy aroma of her body.

"So," said Corusca, talking to him for the first time since they started dancing, "I heard that you'll be going on a mission in a few days."

"You have good hearing," replied Lelouch jokingly, causing the girl to chuckle briefly.

"How long do you think you'll be gone?" asked Corusca.

"I'm not exactly sure yet; I already have a basic layout of my plan for this mission, but," explained Lelouch, "There are just too many unknown variables. Why? Are you missing me already?" The last bit was said in a teasing tone, causing Corusca's cheeks to redden slightly.

"Kinda, maybe, sorta, possibly," replied Corusca cryptically, "I'm kind of thinking of moving when you get back."

"Moving? Why, you're not enjoying it here on the _Requiem_?"

"No, it's not that! This place is great, but…," Corusca left the last part unsaid.

"Yeah, I understand what you're saying. Not everyone wants to live on what's basically a former warship for a long period of time. So, what ship do you plan on moving to?" questioned the SC agent, "Why not the GSV _Go Hang a Salami, I'm a Lasagna Hog_? Nunnally, Diziet, Seyla, and I all stayed there for a period of time, and the people there are wonderful."

"Actually," replied Corusca, "I wasn't really thinking of moving to another ship..."

"Oh," said Lelouch, "Well, if you're going to live on an Orbital, then I would suggest Arameth. That's where I've been staying before I came on board this ship, and if you love peace and quiet it's definitely the O to be at."

"No, you don't get it Lelouch. I don't want to _just_ move. I want to _leave_," snapped Corusca, "I'm thinking about joining the Ulterior. Like maybe the Zetetic Elench, or the Peace faction. Although I heard they call themselves the Pax nowadays."

"Oh, that's interesting," said Lelouch, before realizing exactly what had been said, "Wait, hold a sec! You want to join the _Ulterior_!"

* * *

><p>Soren-Romana found Lelouch in a bar. He had a glass of alcohol sitting in front of him, barely even touched. That was a good sign; at least he wasn't drinking his ass off, thought Romana. The Offensive drone floated calmly over to her friend's side, giving off a friendly aura of green. Noticing her presence, the former prince turned to her and asked, "What do you want?"<p>

"They told me about what happened earlier," said Romana in a soothing voice, "At the dance floor, with that girl; Corusca or something like that."

Lelouch didn't respond.

"You were having so much fun with the girl; talking, laughing, dancing, Diziet even said that you two looked like you were going to kiss," continued Romana; slight envy was starting to well up in her voice. No, I can't be jealous, thought Romana, I came here to comfort Lelouch, not make it worse.

"But then all of sudden you pushed her and walked away, without even saying a word. What happened? Did she say something offensive to you?"

"She wants to join the _Ulterior_," said Lelouch bitterly, pronouncing the word "Ulterior" with a sneer.

"That's it! That's all she said?" asked Romana in confusion, "What have you got against the Ulterior?"

"Everything!" snapped Lelouch, "They're anathema to everything I believe in, everything I stand for!"

"Why do you think that, Lelouch?"

"Because when I see the Ulterior, I think to myself, "why would anyone leave utopia." That's why!" explained Lelouch vehemently. They were starting to get a few stares from the bar's customers.

Romana's aura field shifted from green to a dark-grey color, symbolizing deep frustration, "Lelouch, we've been over this, the Culture can't be everything to everyone. It's not perfect!"

"Yes it is, and yes it can," responded Lelouch, trying to rein in his rising anger, "In the Culture, you can have anything and everything your heart desires. How is that not perfect?"

"You can have anything and everything _material_ that you desire, but there are things that people can't just have on a whim," stated Romana.

"Like what?"

"Tell me, did you have everything you desired back when the Minds wouldn't let you return to Earth?"

No response.

"Have you beaten the Player of Games yet?"

No response.

"Does Diziet Sma say yes whenever you ask her to make love with you?"

No response but a glare.

"Can you honestly tell me, Lelouch, can you _look me in the eye_ and say that you have everything that you've ever wanted?"

Once again, Lelouch didn't respond.

"Well, I want you to think about that Lelouch, and maybe let yourself get a little drunk tonight," said Romana, "But when you're feeling better, I want you to _apologize_ to that girl you left crying on the dance floor."

Met with nothing but silence, Romana left the bar.

TBC

A.N. And lo, Chapter 4: Ulterior Motives is finished. Hopefully an enjoyable read, but if not, well too bad. For the record, Felle Sarcaghi is my Original Character and one of the primary antagonists of this fanfic. Novax-Ethelon, Antik-Ultur, J.J., Seyla, and Corusca are also OCs. And in case you were wondering before hand, Soren-Romana is my original as well. But everyone else is canon and thus not owned by me. With that said, read and review, people!


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